The Book of Stoll
by BeautifulInEveryWay
Summary: Hey I'm Alissa! I'm writing this for my best friends, Connor and Travis Stoll. You've probably heard about them through the Percy Jackson series, but this is the real story. The story of their awesome adventures and their life in general. Read & enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Intro:

Hello there! My name's Alissa. I'm writing this book for two guys I knew. Connor and Travis Stoll? You may have heard of them. They're the two troublemaking siblings in the now-popular Percy Jackson series.

Anyway, I'm writing this for them. In the series they're portrayed as troublemakers, hated by many gods and campers, and very mischievous. Yes, all that is true, but that's only part of it. To me, they were so much more than just rebellious sons of Hermes. They were loving, caring, fun guys. They weren't just my best friends. We were closer than that. They're like brothers to me, and they treated me like their sister, even though I'm a daughter of Athena.

This is just a little book of some of their adventures and my fondest memories with them. So let's see I think I'll start...here.

Chapter 1:

"Dude, come on give it back!" 14-year-old Travis Stoll said to Micah, the school bully. He had just taken Connor's backpack...again. "Make me!" Micah smirked. He dangled the bag just out of reach. "Give it to him now!" Travis yelled as he charged Micah. He knocked the bag out of his hands, and they both fell to the floor, punching and kicking. Connor slipped through the group of kids who had gathered to watch the fight and grabbed his backpack. He backed up and started to dry his tears with his sleeve just as a teacher pushed his way through the crowd.

"What's going on here?" he demanded. No one said anything. "You two" he pointed at Micah and Travis "come with me." They slowly got up and followed the teacher to the principal's office.

Connor, not really knowing what to do, just ran to his next class. He was a year younger than Travis (although people swear they're twins) and very smart. He actually skipped a grade to be in Travis's class, but since that made him the youngest he always got picked on. He got to his seat right as the bell rang. He decided that he wouldn't worry about Travis. Travis could take care of himself. He'd just focus on making it through this class and meeting Travis at lunch.

The class dragged by. Connor kept looking at the door, then the clock, then his paper, then back at the door. Travis never walked in, which Connor half-expected. He knew he was still being "interrogated", so he tried to concentrate on math. It frustrated him, he knew the answer to every question, but because of his ADHD he couldn't concentrate.

Finally the bell rang. Connor was the first person out of the classroom and made a mad dash to the lunchroom, looking for his brother the whole way. Sure enough, Travis was waiting for him at their lunch table, wearing a huge grin.

"Did you get in trouble?" Connor asked. "No not this time. But Micah got expelled." he said smiling. "You don't have to deal with him anymore!" Connor was about to start jumping for joy (or at least in his head he was) when he got a good look at Travis's eye. It was all black and blue. "Oh my gosh Travis this is all my fault I'm so sorry!" Travis looked confused for a second, but he must've figured it out. "Dude, don't worry about it! It wasn't your fault. Besides, you're my brother. It was worth it." he smiled a warm, brotherly smile, when he was suddenly he was doused with chocolate milk. "Oh my gosh I-I'm so sorry! Um...here!" Travis turned around to see a girl about his age holding out a napkin. Behind her, he saw a bunch of girls laughing at her, and instantly he knew what happened.

"It's cool." he said._ "Gosh that was a stupid thing to say"_ he thought to himself. He took the napkin she offered and quickly wiped the milk off him face, hair, and shirt as best he could. "Um, would you like to sit with us?" Connor asked her sheepishly. Travis nodded in agreement as the girl stared at them in disbelief. "A-are you sure? I mean, I just spilled milk all over you and-and" Travis stopped her. "Yeah we're sure. And besides, it technically wasn't you, it was them" he gestured towards the other girls who were still laughing hysterically.** (A.N. Just in case you didn't figure it out, the other girls shoved this girl, which made her spill the milk all over Travis)**. She smiled and sat down. "I'm Alissa" she said. Connor and Travis introduced themselves, and they talked for the rest of the lunch period.

The rest of the day dragged on. The Stoll's found out that Alissa was in all the same classes except P.E., so they sat near each other for the remainder of the day. They also discovered that Alissa lived pretty close to them, so the threesome rode the bus together as well. Alissa got off the bus at the first stop, so Connor and Travis had some time talk before their stop.

"I like her" Connor stated. "Me too" Travis agreed. "She's very nice. I'm actually glad she spilled milk all over me." They looked at each other and burst out laughing. What a weird way to meet their new best friend!

They got off the bus, still laughing, and walked back home. "Mom, were home!" Travis shouted. No answer. "Mom?" Connor asked. "Where are you?" They walked down the hallway into the living room. "Go away!" their mom's familiar voice shouted. Connor tried again. "Mom, it's me and Travis!" "I told you to leave me alone!" she screamed. Travis pulled his younger brother out of the way just as their mom hurled a book at his head. They dashed up the stairs into their room, locking the door behind them. Both of them had tears streaming down their faces.

"How long do you think it'll last this time?" Connor's voice trembled as he spoke. "I-I don't know buddy. She's pretty out of it." Travis said, hugging his brother tightly. Their mom had never been an alcoholic. She had always been against it, up until their dad left them three years ago. Even after he mysteriously disappeared, she rarely drank. But when she did, it was awful. Usually she'd get so stoned that they would have to lock themselves in their bedroom, sometimes for days, and use their window to get in and out of the house. They had gotten use to this, and kept a few boxes of pop tarts and a case of cokes in their room, just in case they got hungry. So, after eating their pop tart dinner, they helped each other with homework and went to bed.

Connor was the first person up, so he got to wake Travis up, which wasn't an easy task. They grabbed what little cash they could find in their room for lunch since they had left their wallets down stairs, ate a pop tart for breakfast, and climbed out the window.

The bus pulled up shortly after they arrived at the bus stop. Alissa was listening to her iPod, but she turned it off when they sat down. She gave a warm smile to the two tired boys and said hey. They returned the smile and said hey as well, and they talked the rest of the way to school.

All of 7th grade went like this. Every now and then something odd would happen. They weren't made fun of as much anymore, but they still remained outcasts. They even started to get into pranking people, and since they were the "outcasts" they got away with it 99% of the time.

Pretty soon 7th grade was over, which meant summer vacation! Unfortunately, Connor and Travis's mom's bad habit got more and more frequent. And the more frequent it became, the worse it got. But there was one day in particular that stood out as the worst.

Connor had just left to run down to the store and buy some water since they were out of coke. "Call me if you think of anything else!" Connor said, leaving Travis to clean up their room. "Okay mother" Travis replied with a smirk. Connor smiled, then left.

Travis had just started cleaning, when he came across their box of pop tarts. It was empty. He looked around the room for his phone, but couldn't find it. "Uh oh" he said to himself. "I left it downstairs!" After a moment of hesitation, he decided to sneak down and grab it. He slowly opened the door and looked both ways. No sign of their mom. He snuck out as silently as possibly, and quickly made his way down the stairs.

He peaked around the corner. His mom was sleeping on the couch. His phone was on the kitchen counter where he had left it 3 days ago. He tiptoed past the couch and into the kitchen. "Where is it?" he thought. He finally spotted it, grabbed it, and turned to go back. When he reached the couch, he stopped. Mom was gone. "Oh my gosh" he whispered to himself, suddenly very scared. He ran as quietly as he could towards his room. He made it up the stairs when she screamed. To his horror, she was hiding next to the staircase. He screamed as well. "What are you doing out here?" she screamed, spit flying out of her mouth. Yeah, she was defidently out of it. He ran towards his room, but not fast enough. She grabbed his wrist and twisted it violently. He let out a cry and pulled towards their bedroom door, trying to get out of her steel grip. He made it through the door part way, but she still hadn't let go. Travis grabbed the edge of the door and tried again to get her to let go, but she wouldn't. Instead, she grabbed the door handle and pulled the door shut as hard as she could (which was pretty hard) and let go of his hand just in time to have it get slammed in between the door and the frame. She laughed evilly as he cried out in pain.

As quick as he could manage, Travis carefully got his hand out and turned the lock. He sank to the floor and curled up into a ball, sobbing uncontrollably. Why did their dad leave them? If he hadn't, this never would've happened. He felt like his dad had left because of him. That's what his mom told him every time she got drunk. At first Travis just ignored her. After all she was drunk. People who get like that say things they don't mean all the time, don't they? After a while though he began to believe her. Why else would his dad leave? His mom was the greatest person he knew when she was with his dad, and Travis knew they loved each other. Connor was so curious and innocent. That only left himself. He was just...well, just Travis. Nothing special like Connor or his mom. He had half a mind to just put himself out of his misery right then and there. It would save everyone else some trouble. But he couldn't bring himself to do that. Not yet anyway. He had to be there for Connor. Connor needed him, and although he wouldn't admit it, he needed Connor.

Drying his eyes and clearing the previous thoughts from his mind, Travis sat up. He looked at his wrist but quickly looked away. It was all black and blue, and you could see the bone sticking out. Connor climbed in the window as Travis was trying to get up. "What's wrong?" Connor asked Travis, who was trying to hide his hand behind his back. "Nothing" Travis responded. "Why do you ask?" He was trying to be convincing, but it wasn't going as well as he had hoped. "It looks like you were crying." Connor said. "I'm fine." Travis answered. Connor backed off. "Okay, well could you get the other bag? I didn't have enough hands." _Uh oh_. Travis nodded uneasily and walked over to the rope ladder hanging out their window, still trying to hide his wrist from Connor. He didn't think he could do this one handed, but he tried. About halfway down he lost hold and fell the rest of the way. He hit the ground and let out a yelp. "Dude are you okay? What happened!" Connor said as he rushed down the ladder. "Nothing I-I just slipped." Travis stammered. He reached out his hand to grab the bag. He didn't realize which hand it was till Connor gasped. "WHAT DID YOU DO?" Connor yelled. "I, uh, w-went to go get my phone from the kitchen." Travis said. Connor's eyes opened wide. He knew exactly what had happened, and it was obvious to him that his brother was still in a lot of pain. "Stay there" Connor said. He disappeared through the window and returned a few minutes later with two backpacks. "What are you doing?" Travis asked Connor, but he didn't get an answer. Travis followed Connor wordlessly for 10 minutes. They arrived in front of Alissa's house shortly after. "Why are we here?" Travis asked, but again Connor didn't answer. He must've been crying on the way here, because he wiped his face with his sleeve before ringing the doorbell.

Alissa answered. "Do you happen to have a first aid kit somewhere?" Connor asked, his words jumbled together. "Well hello to you to!" she said with a laugh. The brothers however didn't find it so funny. "Um, yeah I think so. Why?"

Travis and Connor looked at each other. They hadn't thought of what to say. They couldn't let anyone know their mom did it. That's why they came here, not the hospital. Travis spoke up. "I uh...fell off a tractor." She stared at him in disbelief. "We live in the city, Travis. There are no tractors." she said sarcastically. Connor glared at him. He shrugged. Before Travis could come up with any other "brilliant" ideas, Connor spoke up. "He broke his wrist." Travis nodded and showed her. "How?" she asked, surprisingly calm. They hesitated. "He was climbing a tree, and he fell" Connor said confidently. "Well, then why don't you go to the hospital instead of here you dorks? This is serious!" "Well-" Travis interrupted Connor. "I have a fear of hospitals!" "Then why didn't you go to a clinic or doctors office or something. They're not the same!" Alissa yelled. Connor must've gotten tired of trying to come up with ideas, so he just looked at Travis expectantly. After all, he _is _the older brother. "I h-have a fear of people who wear lab coats or-" he stopped and thought for a moment. "or whatever doctors wear." "Scrubs?" Alissa suggested. "Yeah those!" he said. Connor rolled his eyes. Alissa stared at them, doubt clouding her eyes. She let out a frustrated sigh and let them in.

"Travis, go sit on the couch over there. Connor, see that cabinet over there? Grab a washcloth out of it please. I'll be right back." The boys followed her instructions and she came back with the first aid kit and dragged a little table closer to the couch. They sat in silence as Alissa carefully examined Travis's wrist.

"We need to get the swelling down a little before we can do anything else. Connor, can you get a ice pack from the freezer? Its right around the corner." He got it and had Travis hold it on his wrist.

"So is your dad traveling?" Connor asked Alissa. She nodded. The brothers knew Alissa's dad was rarely home, and her mom was in some kind of freak accident and died when Alissa was only 2 years old. "How did you really break your wrist?" she asked. "We told you already. I fell out of a tree." Travis said. She rolled her eyes and almost looked hurt that they weren't telling her. "You want your wrist to get better or not? Cause if you do, you better start talking." Travis shrank back and looked down with tear-filled eyes. Connor stood up and walked out of the room. Travis hesitated. "My mom." Tears trickled down his face as he said it in nearly a whisper. Alissa sat back, stunned. "Ever since my dad left-" his tears were falling faster now. "You don't have to tell me it all" Alissa said with tears in her own eyes. "N-no it's fine. You need to know. Ever since my dad left my mom started drinking. At first it was mild, but the longer it went on the worse it got." he went on to explain the rest of the story. About halfway through, Connor came back in the room, his eyes red from crying. By the end of the story Alissa was crying too. They sat in silence for a while and watched whatever was on the TV.

Everyone calmed down, and Alissa started to work on Travis's wrist again, tender moment over. "Hey Connor, could you hand me the washcloth you got earlier? Thanks." she said as he handed it to her. She put it in Travis's mouth. "Okay Travis. I need to set your wrist, so when it hurts bite down on the washcloth." He nodded. Connor leaned in close to her. "Are you sure you know how to do this?" he whispered. "I'm positive. Besides, I've done this before. And my dad showed me how, just in case. He'll be fine." she replied and gave him a reassuring smile. Then she got to work.

To their surprise, Travis didn't make a sound when they set it. He had his eyes closed tightly and they could see his jaw trembling from biting down so hard, but no noise came from him at all. Alissa put a splint on it and wrapped it as best as she could, but it wasn't perfect. "If you guys want, we have a spare bedroom with two twin beds you can use. You know, if you don't want to go home." she offered. They gladly accepted. Travis took an aspirin, which pretty much knocked him out for the night, and after Connor thanked Alissa again, he went to sleep. Alissa, however, couldn't sleep that night. She felt awful for forcing the truth out of them, but they were her best friends. They could've told her, right? After hours of tossing and turning, she fell into a restless sleep.

That's pretty much how their summer went. If their mom was okay, then Connor and Travis would stay at their house. If not, they would use the spare bedroom at Alissa's. And Travis's wrist finally did heal, but since they didn't go to the hospital to get it fixed it gave him trouble from time to time.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: How was that? Was it too brutal or mushy or sad? Please let me know so I can make it better :) All reviews welcome! Both good and bad. And I have somewhat of an idea of how the rest will go, but you can still send in suggestions and I can try to use them. Thanks for reading! Please comment and subscribe! I'll get the next chapter up as soon as I'm done writing it.**

**Oh, and just so everyone knows I post all my disclaimers on my profile. So as far as I know (even though I haven't really looked into it) I don't think I'm breaking any rules. Let me know if I am. Thanks again!**


	2. Chapter 2

8th grade changed everything. Well, one day in particular. Travis, who was now almost 15, had a huge crush on Chloe, a cheerleader at the school, and had finally decided to ask her out. Of course, Connor and Alissa didn't want to miss this potential fail, so the agreed to secretly follow Travis on his "mission".  
>It was Monday, and he was going to ask her during their lunch hour. The bell rang. Travis set off to find Chloe, completely unaware that Alissa and Connor was following less than 15 feet behind him. He found her and a few friends walking near the back of the lunch room, towards the door. He jogged up to her. "Hi uh, Chloe. I know that you-"he started nervously, when things completely turned around. "Oh Travis!" she said cheerfully. "I desperately needed to talk to you! Come with me!" She grabbed the hand of a very confused-looking Travis and led the way out back. Alissa and Connor, who had found a hiding spot near by, looked almost as confused as Travis. "How does she even know who he is?" Connor whispered. Alissa shrugged and followed them outside, dragging Connor along with her.<br>They found a hiding spot behind a dumpster and listened intently to what was going on. Chloe's friends had stepped back near the door so Travis and Chloe could talk somewhat privately. "Sooo" Travis said awkwardly. Chloe laughed obnoxiously. "Travis you are so funny!" "Um, not really sure what I said, but okay." he said, still looking as confused as ever. She flashed him a dazzling smile. "So" she said, running her hand down his arm. "What were you going to ask me?" she batted her eyelashes. "Uhhh" Travis stuttered. She started to laugh again, when suddenly a fierce growl escaped from her mouth. Travis stepped back in surprise. "Are you okay?" he asked her. "Um yeah I'm fine. Are you okay?" she replied uneasily. "No not really" Travis said while he slowly backed up. "Cause I swear you just growled!" She glared at him and suddenly picked him up by his shirt and pinned him up against the side of the building. Her friends started to walk closer.  
>Alissa and Connor stared in disbelief at the sight before them. Chloe said something inaudible to Travis, and he started to tremble with fear. To Connor and Alissa's horror, Chloe and her friends started turning deathly pale. All the color drained from their skin, and their eyes turned red. Chloe snarled and was about to attack when Alissa and Connor screamed "NO!" and charged at the group. They managed to get Travis free of Chloe's grip. Then Connor, Alexis, and a stunned, terrified Travis did the only thing they could think of...RUN! They took off towards the doors of the school, but Chloe's friends had blocked that way. So they took off running as fast as they could to the gate leading out of school property. They ran and ran and ran towards Connor and Travis's house with Chloe and her friends in hot pursuit.<br>"We can't lead them back to your house!" Alissa said as they scaled the fence in front of them. They ran around two corners before anyone had a chance to answer. "We won't" Connor said. "Well just keep running around corners and through the streets till we lose them. Then we'll go back to our house, me and Travis will grab our things, then we'll make our way over to your house so you can grab your things." All three of them shuddered as Chloe let out a screech. They ran faster and crossed a street, narrowly missing many cars, then took off again.  
>"Then what?" Alissa asked expectantly. Connor hesitated. "Then we'll just wait till Chloe and those things are gone and we can come back home!" Alissa rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything else.<br>The three of them managed to lose Chloe within minutes after that conversation. They safely made it to Connor and Travis's house. Since they weren't sure how their mom was doing, they decided to play it safe and go through their window. After the last incident between Travis and their mom, no one was taking chances.  
>With backpacks packed with 2 sets of spare clothes, a sweatshirt, some cash, water, pop tarts, cell phones, and pocketknives, they scribbled a note to their mom and slid it under their bedroom door. Hopefully they would be back before she would notice, but they weren't taking any chances. Alissa packed the same thing at her house except the pocketknife and she had granola bars instead of pop tarts.<br>They set off in search of a place to stay. They couldn't afford a hotel, but they wanted to stay somewhere close by. It was 9'o'clock before they gave up their search and settled in the pavilion of a local park. They all had their own picnic table bench for a makeshift bed and agreed to keep watch through the night in shifts. Travis, being the oldest, volunteered to go first. Shortly after he started his shift, he could hear Connor snoring. He smiled to himself, thinking of all the memories they had had as kids. When they would watch TV together and fight over who got the last juice box. He even remembered playing Frisbee with their dad in the park. He missed his dad, and he knew Connor did too. Connor had grown up a lot since then. They both had.  
>Travis pulled out his pocketknife and stared at his reflection in the blade. His dad had given him and Connor one for the Christmas before he left. He had made them promise to never leave the house without it except for when necessary, and aside from school (since it would be considered a weapon) they had kept their promise. He wasn't sure why his dad made them promise, but it didn't really matter. Those knives were the last thing their dad had given to them before he disappeared and they meant a lot to them. It was one of the few things that neither boy had ever lost.<br>Travis was deep in thought when Alissa snuck up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. He jumped straight up in the air, and Alissa clamped a hand over his mouth before he could scream and wake Connor up. She giggled. "It's your turn to sleep." she said quietly. He nodded, the gratitude showing in his deep bluish-brown eyes, and fell asleep as soon as he laid down. Alissa smiled to herself. Where would she be without these two? She couldn't help but wonder. Her life had changed so much since she had spilled milk all over Travis. She smiled more, and her life was more...well, more interesting. Like now for instance. She probably never would've been in this situation if she hadn't met them. In fact she knew she wouldn't be. _"Maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing"_ she thought to herself and suppressed another laugh. She felt as though she were their sister. They made her feel as though she were, and they were so sweet to each other. They tease each other, but she couldn't think of once when they were actually mad. They loved each other and that's the way it should be. Alissa, like Travis had been, was lost in thought when she thought she heard footsteps in the leaves around the pavilion. She looked around and checked her watch. 2:27 a.m. Her shift was almost over. "I'm probably just hallucinating." she said as she tried to convince herself, when she heard a twig snap. Her heart was beating faster now as she quickly woke Connor and Travis. They grabbed their bags and stood at the center of the structure, looking for the source of the noise. Alissa noticed that the boys both had their pocketknives drawn. Minutes past by slowly and they were about to dismiss the noise as an animal or something when they saw it. Three sets of glowing red eyes. The same eyes that they had encountered just hours ago. Chloe and her friends had found them.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry this chapter was so short! And thanks sooo much for the positive reviews so far! For the girl that asked, there will most likely be some Tratie later on in the story ;) But thanks for the support! Chapter 3 might take longer to get up. I already had chapter 2 almost done when I posted the first one, but I haven't started writing again yet, so I'll do that now. Later!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chloe lunged at Alissa first. She screamed and backed out of the way just in time. Connor sliced through the air with his little pocketknife and managed to catch Chloe in the arm. She screeched as a strange gold-colored liquid dripped from her arm.  
>"What are they?" Connor yelled and ducked out of the way as Chloe lunged at him. "I have no idea!" Travis said. He stabbed his knife at her and more gold liquid dripped from the cut.<br>While Chloe held their attention, her two friends had formed a ring around the three kids. Travis was the first to notice this and whirled around just in time to stab the creature in the chest, near it's heart. With one final bone-chilling screech it disintegrated into dust. One down.  
>"Connor, aim for the heart!" Travis yelled at his brother and swung at the 2nd creature. He felt his knife slice through it's flesh as it too disintegrated, leaving only a pile of gold dust in it's place. Two down.<br>Now it was between them and Chloe. Connor had been trying to protect Alissa and stab Chloe at the same time, but had only managed to leave a few scrapes. Travis charged at her with all his might for one final blow and...missed. But it distracted Chloe long enough for Connor to give the fatal stab. She disintegrated and with one gust the dust was blown away in the wind.  
>They all stood together, breathing heavily. "What do we do now?" Connor asked. Travis and Alissa thought for a minute and tried to catch their breath before answering. "Home I guess" Travis said with a shrug. "Are you serious?" Alissa started. "What if there's more of those things out there? We can't just wait for them to attack again!" "Well then where do you suppose we go? As far as we know whatever those were are gone now. We've got nowhere else to go but home. That's where we said we'd go after they were gone anyway." Travis answered. Alissa said nothing.<br>"They were empousai" Connor whispered. "What?" Travis said, looking very confused. "What's that?" "We learned about them in history class that day when you were in the office because of Micah. Their from Greek mythology. Pretty much the original vampires." He said it so calmly that Travis and Alissa didn't know how to respond. Travis just rolled his eyes and grabbed his bag, motioning for the others to do the same.  
>They headed home quietly. It was now almost 7:00 am, and the sun was pretty much up by now. By 8 the threesome had made it back to Travis and Connor's house since it was the closest.<br>They were reaching for the front door handle when Alissa stopped them. "Wait guys. What about your mom?" The look on Travis's face made it clear he hadn't thought of that. He looked toward the driveway. "Her car isn't here so she must not be home" he replied and opened the door. They stepped inside and locked the door behind them. Travis had been right. Their mom's purse and keys were gone, along with her phone. Connor pulled out his phone and sent her a quick text:  
>We're home. Where r u?<br>They walked to their bedroom. The note they had left for her was gone, so she must have gotten it.  
>A few minutes later they heard the door slam shut. Their mom walked in. "Where have you been?" she asked. Thank God she was sober. Connor told her the whole story. Her face turned pale when he described the empousai.<br>"They've found you." she whispered. Her hands were trembling. "What are you talking about?" Connor asked. "Who found us?" She picked up their bags from where they had dropped them and threw them to them. "You need to leave NOW! There's not much time." she said as she scrambled around for a piece of paper and a pen. "Mom what's going on? We just got here. Who found us?" Travis asked, an urgent and scared look on his face. She handed him a piece of paper with an address scribbled on it. "Don't stop until you reach here" she pointed to the paper. "You've gotta be kidding! Mom, we're in California! This address is in New York. How are we suppose to get there? Fly?" "NO!" she yelled. "No don't fly. Too dangerous." "But why do we have to go?" Connor whined with tears in his eyes. "Why can't you take us?"  
>She looked at him in disbelief. "You really think I'd pay all that money and put myself in danger to get you two to New York? Think again! This is all your dad's fault." she mumbled a few other words that probably shouldn't be repeated. "What's Dad got to do with this?" Travis said, suddenly very defensive. She didn't answer. She walked them to the door and, with a few last words, left them to find their way to New York on their own<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

Travis and Connor now stood outside the front door of Alissa's house. After the brothers troubling experience at their house, Alissa had to run back home and grab some things before they set off on their long trip to the mysterious address.

"Do you think there's more monsters after us, Travis?" Connor asked.

"I don't know bro. From what mom said, someone is after us. I just can't figure out who."

Connor was staring at the ground looking really worried. Travis gave Connor a one-armed hug.

"It'll be okay. Well make it to wherever this place is." Alissa came out and locked the door behind her, oblivious to the tender moment that had just occurred.

"Okay so I map-quested the trip from here to wherever the address is and it should take us about..." she looked up with a depressed look in her eyes. "A little over a month, not including stopping."

They sighed and just started walking...and walking...and walking...

By 9:00 that night they had made it from their homes in San Diego to Murrieta, so they were making pretty good timing. Now all they had to do was find a place to stay the night. No one like the idea of another pavilion due to their last experience, so they decided to embrace the hobo lifestyle that would be their life for at least the next month and sleep under a bridge.

Like the last time, Travis took first watch. Other than a squirrel running by a few times, his watch was uneventful. Alissa and Connor's shifts were also very boring. At the crack of dawn they were up and walking again. It was a long shot, but they were hoping to be at the California line by the end of tomorrow.

After four hours they stopped at a grocery store to buy a little food. Alissa had decided that they should take turns buying food with the little money they had in their wallets. Since it was her idea, she volunteered to buy first. They got three packs of beef jerky, a roll of bread, and a few water bottles.

"Don't eat a lot." Alissa said. "We didn't get much, but it's enough to last us most the week and it'll keep the load light. If you run out of water, just refill it at a water fountain."

The boys nodded in agreement. After eating a slice of bread each, they started traveling again.

Even with the food they had, their energy was draining. By noon it was almost 98 degrees and the threesome were trudging down the streets of Blythe in the direct sunlight. They stopped at a Walgreens to use the restroom, fill up water bottles, and most importantly: get out of the sun!

They were sitting on a bench outside the restrooms, sipping water and cooling off when Connor almost choked.

"Wait, what about school? Won't we get in trouble for not going?"

Travis rolled his eyes. "You almost choked over that?" Travis said.

Alissa looked at Travis. "He does have a point."

"Fine. Give me a second." Travis excused himself from the group and walked around the corner.

Alissa and Connor could hear him talking to someone, but they didn't bother following him. He returned a few minutes later with a look of triumph spread across his face.

"Problem solved! Were no longer enrolled at the school."

Connor looked confused. "How'd you manage that?" he asked.

"I just called and told them that we were transferring. They thought I was the county or something." he shrugged.

"Well okay then!" Alissa said with a laugh. They spent a few more minutes in front of the air conditioner, then set off down the street.

Just before the sunset they passed a sign that said "Welcome to Quartzite!"

"Dang, we're making better time than I thought!" Travis said. "We should be out of the state by tomorrow afternoon."

Connor and Alissa both managed small smiles. They stopped to rest under another bridge. Nothing came after them that night either. Tomorrow, however, would be a different story.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Is the spacing better this time? I guess some times it works sometimes it doesnt. And just so you know, the geography is probably going to be WAAAAYYY off on this! So if your thinking "There's no way a normal person could walk that far!" then your absolutely right :) Unfortunately MapQuest doesnt have walking directions from San Diego to New York! Haha anyway thanks for reading! Sorry its so short. Kind of a filler. I had up to chapter 6 done and when I went to email it to myself (since I type from my iPod, send it to my email, and then copy/paste it into Word. Stupid right? lol) I accidently deleted it and found out there was absolutely no way to get it back. *sigh* So I re-did it, and I actually loved what I wrote! It was really fun. Anyway, I'll stop rambling now...review please! :D**


	5. Chapter 5

They got another early start. Today was day 3 of their journey, and Connor, Alissa, and Travis were making excellent time. They had made it to the state line by noon and were just now stopping for their first break at the Arizona state welcome center.

They sat on the bench closest to the door, just in case they needed to make a run for it. Alissa handed out bread and beef jerky to the two hungry brothers, and they ate in silence.

20 minutes later they were on their feet. After consulting Alissa's map, the three teens set off down the side of the interstate.

"Won't we look like we're running away?" Connor asked innocently, his brown eyes staring at Travis.

"Aren't we?" Travis said.

"Well, yeah in a way." Connor started. He was starting to get aggravated, and it was showing. "But the cops wont believe us when they arrest us and we say 'Oh we weren't running away! Our drunk mother told us to walk to this address since were being attacked by monsters and other bad people.'"

Alissa giggled, and Travis glared at her, obviously ticked off. She didn't take that too well.

"You know Travis, you should try appreciating your brother instead of getting ticked off at him for being right. This is the second time he's thought of something that you missed. Don't be such a brat." Travis stopped in his tracks.

"Excuse me?" he said loudly.

"You heard me" she replied.

"Listen, you don't even know the half of what I go through everyday." He was starting to get up in her face, but she stood her ground.

"Oh I think I do, so you can just shut up. Besides, if I remember correctly were both missing a parent, so you can't use that as an excuse anymore."

Connor, who had just been silently standing to the side, swallowed hard and looked down as Alissa realized how harsh that had sounded. She felt bad, but she would apologize to Connor later. Right now she was busy glaring at Travis. He wouldn't make eye contact.

"Look, I'd love to waste my time arguing with you, but your too young to understand." The last part of that hit Alissa hard. She completely lost it.

"Young? Travis I'm a month younger than you! Connor is only a year younger. What have you gone through that we haven't?" she thought of his wrist right after she said that, but decided not to say anything. "I don't know what your problem has been lately, but unless you want to travel by yourself you better suck it up and quit complaining. Gosh, no wonder your dad left."

Travis tensed up. Alissa got ready to defend herself just in case he started swinging at her, but he didn't. Instead, he looked her straight in the eyes for the first time since they had started arguing.

"Look I'm sorry if I'm being a jerk. But-" he hesitated. "Alissa there's so much more to it than that." There was so much hurt in his dark brown eyes that Alissa almost broke down crying right then and there. He turned and jogged down the side of the interstate and into the woods, staying just inside the tree line like Connor had said. Alissa looked like she was frozen in place.

"C'mon" Connor said quietly. "We need to get off the side of the road. Someone's gonna call the cops." he gently grabbed her arm and led her down the hill.

She was still in shock for a while after they got in the tree line, but she finally spoke up.

"Connor I'm so sorry" Alissa said. She had tears in her eyes. He looked at her confused.

"Why are you apologizing to me? You argued with Travis, not me."

"I know, but I shouldn't have blown up like that. I was being a brat, not Travis. And I know some of the things I said hurt you maybe even more than it did him."

Connor was quiet for a minute. "You don't need to apologize to me. This is between you and him."

They walked in silence for a while. Connor must've thought he had said something wrong because he spoke up again. "Sorry. I wasn't saying that it was your fault. Travis wasn't being nice. It was his fault."

Alissa laughed. "Connor I wasn't mad at you! And it was more my fault. I started arguing first. But..." He looked at her, waiting for her to continue. She took a deep breath. "Do you know what's been bothering him? It's gotta be something pretty big to bother him that much."

"I'm not sure. He's been acting different ever since the wrist incident. Maybe he's been having flashbacks?"

She thought about it. "Yeah, maybe your right. Speaking of which, where did he go?"

"I'm not sure. I hadn't seen him since he ran off. I'm sure he'll either wait up for us or come back. He just needs some time to calm down and clear his head."

That's when they heard a roar.

* * *

><p><strong>How was that? Too sad again, or is more drama good? Sorry I haven't been updating more! I have like 4 more chapters written, but I haven't had time to upload them. So I'll try to put up at least one more chapter before the week's up, but I cant promise anything.<strong>

**And I noticed that a while back I had mentioned putting Tratie into the story later on. Well now I'm not sure if I'll do that or not. I'm honestly not a big Tratie fan, so I'm not sure on it anymore. I guess I'll find out when I get there, since I have very little idea what to do with the story anymore. Please let me know if its getting boring. I'm trying to get them to NY quickly (storywise) but if I'm dragging it out let me know I honestly cant wait to post the next chapter…**


	6. Chapter 6

Travis had jogged a good mile ahead of Connor and Alissa before stopping at a big river. He sat down on a rock and held his head in his hands, sobbing.

How could Alissa have been so mean? She had no idea what he went through every day. When her mom died, her dad hadn't blamed it on her every time he thought about it. She didn't have a little brother that she had to look after and take care of. She had no idea how many times he had thought of killing himself, but decided not to because he needed to be there for Connor. Having to practically raise your younger brother is a lot to put on a 9-year-old. And on top of that having to deal with your dad leaving? He tried to be so strong for Connor, but he was dying inside.

And Alissa didn't even seem to care.  
>He continued to cry until he thought he heard Connor and Alissa coming. Travis got up and rinsed his face with water, when a loud roar came from behind him.<p>

He turned around, wide-eyed as a huge black beast jumped from behind a tree and barreled toward him. He managed to dodge it and grab his little golden pocketknife.

_"Man I really need to get something bigger."_ he thought to himself. The dog-looking-thing raced toward him again. Travis dove out of the way and managed to slice it's paw a little.

"Ugh why did I run so far ahead?" he said, this time out loud. He jumped out of the way of the charging animal and heard Alissa scream. Guess they had seen it.

The beast looked over at the two new kids approaching it, no doubt thinking they could be appetizers. Travis saw his chance and sliced through the dog-things back. It roared, anger in it's eyes and whirled on Travis. Connor cut it's shoulder before it could attack. Alissa was trying to distract it so they could hit it more.

It let out a roar and pounced on Connor, knocking him to the ground. Travis snuck up behind it and stabbed it in the head before it could attack his brother. Connor got out from under the animal, a bit shaken but unharmed.

"Connor!" Alissa shouted and motioned to a bunch of big rocks that she was standing on. Connor got the idea and started leading the animal toward it.

With Travis's help, it didn't take too long. It walked right into their trap. As soon as it walked into the right area, Alissa shoved a boulder off the pile, and it pinned the beast's back leg under it.  
>"Run!" Travis shouted. "We've only got a few minutes." They sprinted up the steep hill that led back to the interstate. Just when they reached the top, the dog-thing roared and got loose.<p>

"We've gotta cross the street! It might buy us some time!" Connor yelled, panting. They charged into the middle of the street without even looking. They made it to the middle and hopped over the barriers before starting across the other side. The threesome made it across all but the last lane of traffic.

The car slammed on the breaks, laid on the horn, and swerved into the emergency lane.

Connor ran over to the window.

The driver, a teenage girl with brunette hair, rolled down the window.

"Gosh why don't you watch where you're going? I could have killed you guys! Do you know how stupid that wa-"

"Yeah yeah I know can we please catch a ride with you? It's an emergency!"

"What?" the brunette yelled. "Why on earth would I-" she was cut off again. The passenger, another teenage girl (but blonde, not brunette) frantically tapped her on the shoulder.

"Jonnie! Jonnie what the heck is that thing?" the blonde screamed. Connor turned around just quickly enough to catch a glimpse of the beast making it's way through traffic.

"That would be our emergency!" he said frantically.

"Well don't just stand there, get in!" the blonde told Connor. He, Alissa, and Travis piled in the backseat. The brunette floored it, and the stared out the window as the thing got smaller and smaller and eventually disappeared.

"So what was that thing?" the brunette asked.

"I'm not really sure." Connor admitted.

"Then why was it after you?" the blonde asked.

"Like I said, I'm really not sure." Connor replied calmly. It got awkwardly silent for a moment.

"Well" the blonde said. "My name is Brookie. I'm 16, and this is my sister Jonnie. She's 18. Were from Gilbert, Arizona."

"Nice to meet you." Connor said. "I'm Connor, and this is my brother Travis" he nodded toward Travis, who was near the other door. "And our friend Alissa" She was sitting in the middle. "Were from San Diego."

"Oh cool! It's so beautiful down there!" Brookie said.

"You've been?" Connor asked.

"Yeah actually a couple times. Right now were going to Window Rock to do some writing."

"Oh, are you guys authors or something?" Alissa spoke up. The sisters laughed.

"No, I'd suck at writing a book. Were musicians." Brookie said.

"Oh that's cool! What kind of music do you play?" Connor asked Brookie.

"Mostly pop. We just released our 7th album."

"No way, 7th?" Alissa asked, surprised.

"Yeah, we started really young." Brookie said.

"So where are you heading to? Back to San Diego?" Jonnie asked. She kept looking through the rearview mirror at Travis, obviously wondering why he hadn't said anything. He was staring out the window.

"Actually New York." Alissa said.

"What?" Jonnie replied. "And you're walking?"

"Yeah, it's a long story that I'd rather not get into." Connor said. They nodded as if they understood.

"Well if you want, we can take you as far as Houck. Its on the way." Brookie offered.

"Really? That would be amazing! Is that okay with you Jonnie?" Connor asked eagerly.

"Sure, no problem!" she said with a smile.

"Oh gosh thank you so much! You have absolutely no idea how much this means to us!" Alissa said excitedly.

"You're very welcome!" Jonnie replied kindly, still glimpsing at Travis, who still hadn't said anything.

They drove for a good hour or so. Alissa, Connor, and Brookie chatted up a storm. Travis had fallen asleep and Jonnie was focused on driving, but chimed in every now and then. They stopped at a gas station to fill up and use the restrooms, but were on the road again within a matter of minutes.

"Hey Connor, is their something wrong with Travis? He hasn't said anything the whole time." Jonnie asked after they were back on the road and she had made sure he was still asleep.

She caught a glimpse of sadness in Connor's eyes. "He's fine. He's just had a long day."

"We" Alissa started. "We had a big argument earlier. I said some things that I really regret, but I haven't gotten a chance to talk to him about it yet. He hasn't said anything since then."

Jonnie nodded understandingly.

"Sorry he hasn't been very friendly. I'm sure he appreciates this just as much as we do, if not more!" Connor added.

Brookie laughed. "You don't have to apologize! It's fine! Besides, I kind of know what he's going through."

They drove for another few hours before stopping again. By this time it was starting to get dark.

"Hey Brookie, can you drive now?" Jonnie asked as she pulled into a gas station.

"Sure" she said. Jonnie pulled a couple bottles of coke and some snacks from the trunk while Brookie filled up the tank. They all got out to stretch and use the bathroom again. Travis came with them this time.

"Aww look sleeping beauty has awoken!" Brookie said jokingly. Travis managed a weak smile as he tousled his dark brown hair.

By the time they were back on the interstate, it was almost 9:00 pm. Alissa and Connor fell asleep shortly after they left the gas station. Alissa fell asleep with her head on Connor's shoulder.

"Aww that's so cute!" Jonnie said.

"Cute till he drools on her" Travis mumbled.

"Is Alissa Connor's girlfriend?" Brookie asked.

"No, she's just a good friend of ours." he said.

"They would make a cute couple" Jonnie commented.

Travis didn't say anything.

It got really quiet for a while. The sun was now completely down, and the moon was shining brightly over the mountains.

"Ugh come on guys talk to me! I'm falling asleep!" Brookie said, half-laughing half-serious.

Travis chuckled. "Sorry." He said tiredly. Brookie smiled.

"So Travis, are you and Connor twins?" Jonnie asked.

"No, he's about a year younger than me." he replied.

"How old are you?" Brookie asked.

"15"

"Man both of you act so much older!" Jonnie said.

"Yeah you do!" Brookie agreed. He just smiled.

They listened to the radio for a little bit after that.

"Haha Jonnie it's on!" Brookie said as she turned up the radio. She and Jonnie laughed and started singing:

_You've got me breathing through your love (don't leave me now) you've got my back against your wall and I'm aching through it all! Guess I'll be the one holding onto us. Guess you'll be the one that breaks me. Can we meet halfway to love another day? Will you be the one that makes me?_

They had to stop because they laughing so hard.

"You guys are really good!" Travis said. "Did you write that?"

"Not exactly" Brookie said with a giggle.

"We're really good friends with the Before You Exit guys and we helped them write some of that song. We were actually at Starbucks and were goofing around singing whatever stupid things came to our head. Anyway at the end we laughed till we couldn't breathe cause the song we came up with was really funny. We were just gonna use it as an inside joke, but Riley really liked the tune. So we went back to their house and figured out good lyrics for it, and now it's on the radio."

"But when it comes on we always think of the first song we had" Brookie added.

"I gotcha." Travis said now laughing with them. "Well, sing one of your songs! I wanna hear one!"

"Oh, well um Jonnie do you wanna sing what we have of the new one with me?" Brookie asked.

"Sure!" she said. "But" she turned to face Travis. "It's not finished yet, so don't laugh!" she tried to act serious, but a small smile made it's way onto her face.

Travis laughed. "Don't worry I won't. I'm promise."

"Good" she said, her smile bigger now. Then they started singing again:

_'Its funny how your charming ways  
>Ended up in stupid games.<br>Thinking you were serious  
>To find out it was nothing but<br>The same thing that you did before  
>To that other girl next door<br>I wish that I could turn it around  
>So you could see how I need you now<br>Can't you give me answers?_

_What about me and you?_  
><em>What am I supposed to do?<em>  
><em>To change your changing mind<em>  
><em>Not gonna wait in line<em>  
><em>Cause your here then your gone<em>  
><em>And I never know but that's okay<em>  
><em>Cause I can play pretend tonight<em>  
><em>Making everything alright<em>  
><em>Cause I can play pretend tonight<em>  
><em>Making you the perfect mine<em>

_It's funny how you wanted me_  
><em>And told me I'm your everything<em>  
><em>It's was all just a dumb old lie<em>  
><em>That makes you just another guy<em>  
><em>Don't give me those apologies<em>  
><em>Or tell me that your wanting me<em>  
><em>Our first kiss would become our last<em>  
><em>But baby I'll be gone so fast<em>  
><em>Can't you give me answers?<em>

_What about me and you?_  
><em>What am I supposed to do?<em>  
><em>To change your changing mind<em>  
><em>Not gonna wait in line<em>  
><em>Cause you're here then your gone<em>  
><em>And I never know but that's okay<em>  
><em>Cause I can play pretend tonight<em>  
><em>Making everything alright<em>  
><em>Cause I can play pretend tonight<em>  
><em>Making you the perfect mi-'<em>

They didn't get to finish, because halfway through the last word Connor let out the loudest, longest snore they'd ever heard.

Jonnie, Brookie, and Travis were laughing so hard that Brookie had to pull off the side of the road just to catch her breath.

After a few minutes, Brookie had enough control over herself to keep driving. They pulled back out into traffic.

"Keep going! That was really good!" Travis said encouragingly.

"We can't." Jonnie admitted. "That's all we have so far."

"Connor interrupted at the right time" Brookie said, giggling.

Travis smiled. "Well it was perfect."

"Thanks" the two girls said.

Jonnie looked at the GPS. "Okay, it looks like well be in Gallup between 7 or 8 tomorrow morning. Or well, I guess it'd be today since its after 3 now."

"Ugh" Brookie whined and took the exit.

"Why are we going here?" Jonnie asked.

"I need a coffee! I'm falling asleep at the wheel!" Brookie said as she pulled the car into a McDonalds drive-thru.

"Mhmm. Well little miss coffee addict, go ahead. But since I won't have to keep you up anymore I'm going to sleep!" Jonnie teased. Brookie and Travis laughed.

Apparently, Jonnie wasn't kidding because she fell asleep 10 minutes after they left the drive-thru. Travis and Brookie talked a little bit, but Travis quickly fell asleep too.

"Well road, I guess it's just you and me for the next three hours. Coffee, don't fail me now!" Brookie said to herself as she turned the radio up and drove down the dark interstate.

* * *

><p><strong>Well? Lol I hope you enjoyed my fail attempt to make it funny, but I didn't want this chapter to have as much drama in it. There's already plenty of that and even more to come. I tried to make it longer though! Haha yeah unfortunately dont get used to it. And yes, I absolutely HAD to throw Jonnie and Brookie in there. I hadn't even planned that, but I figured it wouldn't hurt. Plus they just released the second song that I put and its sooo amazing! And no, they didn't help Before You Exit write the first song, but they really are good friends Anyway like I've said in past chapters I am bad with geography, so it's probably not even close. I do not own Jonnie and Brookie, Before You Exit, OR the lyrics that were in this chapter. And of course I don't own the Stolls ;)<strong>

**Here's the YouTube links to the songs I used. Check 'em out! Their really good:**

**Perfect Mine by Jonnie and Brookie- .com/watch?v=qUlSn0H5Beo&feature=player_embedded**

**Guess I'll Be the One by Before you Exit- ./watch?v=3EV5hfA2l7w&feature=player_embedded**

**J&B Twitter: .com/jonnieandbrookie**

**BYE Twitter: .com/beforeyouexit**


	7. Chapter 7

They arrived in Houck around 7. Travis had woken up as they pulled off the exit. They had decided to eat breakfast together since they had all become good friends during the drive.

They pulled into a Chickfila parking lot only to find it closed.

"Oh come on! Why do I always crave Chickfila on Sunday's?" Brookie said. They laughed and drove to a McDonalds across the street.

Connor and Alissa still hadn't woken up when Jonnie, Brookie, and Travis got out of the car.

"Man you would've thought with all the doors slamming that they would've woke up by now!" Jonnie said as the three of them stared at the car waiting for them to get out.

"Should we wake them up?" Brookie asked.

No one answered at first, then Travis laughed.

"No. Can I see the keys really quick?" he asked, a mischievous grin on his face. Brookie handed him the keys.

"Thanks" he said, and he hit the alarm button. Jonnie and Brookie started cracking up along with Travis as the door shot open.

"Very funny Travis" Connor yelled.

Travis smirked, which made Jonnie and Brookie laugh even harder. He looked at them with a confused smile on his face.

"Dude when you smirked you looked like an elf or something!" Brookie giggled.

Travis laughed, and they all headed inside.

McDonalds was running a special today, so they all got 49 cent sausage biscuits and water. Travis and Connor ordered two each, and naturally Brookie got a Mocha Frappe to go.

They talked and laughed and joked till it was time to go. Jonnie and Brookie still had an hour to drive to meet up with their friends. They all exchanged cell numbers, and with a few final thank you's and hugs, said goodbye.

"Well, back to walking." Travis said as they watched the two girls drive off.

"They still saved us a ton of time!" Connor said cheerfully. Travis half-smiled in agreement, and the three of them headed back to the interstate, this time determined to stay on this side of the road no matter who spots them.

They stopped at a Walgreens to get restocked on snacks and to fill up their old water bottles, then headed out and up the exit ramp under the blazing Arizona sun.

They stopped to stay the night at a rest stop near Church Rock, New Mexico. Connor decided to take first shift that night, so Alissa and Travis found two benches and fell asleep. They still hadn't talked to each other much, but neither one of them seemed mad anymore, which was a good sign.

Connor was deep in thought when he heard it. A low growl came from somewhere in the darkness, and it was coming closer and closer. Connor couldn't help it. He was panicking, so he threw a shoe at Travis.

"Dude, what the-" he heard the growling too now, and his eyes went wide.

They both stood up and looked around to see where it was coming from. Suddenly, from out of the darkness, a little black Dachshund came around the corner, growling and acting like a Rottweiler. Connor walked towards it and picked it up, relief filling his eyes as he and Travis laughed quietly.

After debating for a little bit, they decided they would keep the dog till they could find an animal shelter to drop it off at. Travis decided to start his shift early. After petting the dog one last time, Connor went to sleep.

Travis sat near the drink machine, the dog in his lap. He smiled as it licked his face and arm. His dad had gotten him and Connor a little black Cocker Spaniel named Bandit when Travis was six. Unfortunately, Bandit got hit by a car a year after his dad left. It was really hard on the brothers, but seeing this little guy brought them a little comfort inside. Travis was sure Connor had thought of Bandit too.

Travis played with "Bandit Jr." throughout his shift. A few truck drivers and tourists gave him strange looks as they walked past them to use the restrooms, but other than that his shift was uneventful.

When Alissa woke up for her shift she didn't even ask about the dog. Her and Travis traded spots without saying much, and she kept watch till the sun rose.

They were back on the interstate by 6am, and had made it to Crownpoint by noon. Bandit kept up with them and even ran ahead of them sometimes. He even knew to stay as far away from the road as possible.

Around six in the evening they stopped by a pond the had spotted from the interstate. Travis, Connor, Alissa, and Bandit sat on the shore and ate some bread and beef jerky. Somehow they ended up having a splash war and all of them ended up soaking wet.

After somewhat drying off, they got back on the interstate and walked for four more hours, discussing where they should stay tonight. They had agreed that another rest area would be the best bet.

They began looking for signs for one when they heard something howl. A low, long, terrifying howl, and it was not Bandit.

"You know," Connor started. "Let's not stop tonight." He gulped and the others agreed as they took off jogging, trying to put as much distance between them and the beast as possible.

* * *

><p><strong>Soooo sorry I haven't uploaded! Been extremely busy lately, AND I've been writing for another account as well as a few other stories for this one so...yeah. Let me know what you think! I'll try to upload again soon, but if I dont please dont be mad. Thanks for reading :)<strong>


	8. Chapter 8

They made great time through the night, but were exhausted by the time the sun rose. The howl still echoed fresh in their mind's. They hadn't talked about it much last night since they were pushing themselves as fast as they could.

"We probably put a good hundred miles between the thing and us last night." Connor said.

"Dude, there's no way we did 100 miles last night." Alissa said.

"I know, but it was at least 50 miles behind us when we heard it." Connor replied.

Alissa shrugged, and they walked on.

By 1:00 that afternoon they had no choice but to get off the exit ramp. They were all tired, hungry, and trudging. Alissa was practically dragging Connor, and they had all run out of water around 11. Even Bandit had his tail between his legs.

They went to a Chickfila to take a break, use the restrooms, and fill up their water bottles. The three of then grabbed a booth to cool off, but Connor had fallen asleep with his head on the table as soon as they sat down. Bandit, who Connor had smuggled in by wrapping him in Travis's extra hoodie, had fallen asleep between the two boys. Travis was about to wake him up, but Alissa stopped him.

"Let him sleep a little. He's exhausted." she said. Travis didn't make eye contact with her, but smiled a little at his brother before falling asleep himself.

Alissa was a little disappointed that he fell asleep so soon. Things hadn't been the same between them since their argument four days ago, and she really wanted to work everything out and apologize, but she was happy that he was getting some rest. He had been really stressed since they left. There was definitely something bothering him, but he was doing a great job of hiding whatever it was. It was clear that the dog meant something to both boys, even though they had just found him. Why else would they both call him Bandit without even talking about it? She thought until exhaustion won over and she, too fell asleep.

She awoke to someone tapping her shoulder. After mentally arguing with herself on whether or not to wake up, she forced her eyes open to see a Chickfila employee standing over her.

"Excuse me miss" The guy was probably 20-25 years old. "I didn't mean to wake you, but were going to have to ask you to leave. Were trying to close up."

Alissa sat straight up. "Close up? We haven't been here that long!" she thought, and looked out the window. It was dark outside.

"Oh okay. I'm really sorry! We didn't mean to stay this long." she said as she shook Travis's shoulder. He moaned.

"5 more minutes" he mumbled. The employee laughed before walking away.

"Travis we gotta go, there closing. It's like 9:45" That woke him up. He woke Connor up, and grabbed Bandit (who had surprisingly stayed wrapped in the hoodie the whole time) before the little guy could make too much noise.

They rushed out of the restaurant after mumbling a few "thank-you's" and "sorry's" and let Bandit go to the bathroom before rushing back onto the interstate. They wanted to have at least some lighting just in case the beast caught up with them.

They made it into Santa Rosa by morning. Alissa, Travis, and Connor ran in a rest stop to use the restroom and give Bandit a break before getting back out there. No one knew how far behind the beast was now, but they were all very worried.

They were making pretty decent time till it started storming around 11:30.

"Should we stop?" Alissa asked as they stopped under a rest area overhang. "The sky's so dark it looks like it's 9 o clock at night."

"No, we need to keep going." Travis replied. "We don't know how close that thing is. I have a hoodie, and you both brought hoodie's and rain jackets. Just wear your rain jackets now."

"What about Bandit?" Connor asked. Travis hesitated.

"Give me your backpack." Connor handed Travis his bag, and Travis put their water, snacks, and extra stuff in one bag, and Connor's extra hoodie in the other, now empty bag. Connor gave him a confused look as Travis handed him the supply bag.

"Here carry this bag. Even with both our stuff combined it'll still weigh less than Bandit. I'll wrap the hoodie around him and put him in my backpack with the net part open." **(A/N Travis and Connor's backpacks have the front pocket where you unzip it and the inside is netting. Fancy;) **

They nodded and after Travis let Bandit go to the bathroom one more time, he secured Bandit in his backpack and gently slung it onto his back.

"What about your hoodie?" Alissa asked Travis. Alissa and Connor both had their rain jackets on and their extra hoodies in their packs.

"I don't need one. I'd rather have it for after the rain when it's colder." he said as he, Alissa, Connor, and Bandit headed out into the raging weather.

They marched down the interstate in the storm with cold rain pelting them like needles. Connor slipped once and scraped his knee a little, but he just kept going like nothing happened.

They walked for hours and hours. The more it rained, the more the temperature dropped. Cold and wet weren't exactly the best mix for traveling, especially when your in it a long time and your not getting much rest. It'd be a miracle if no one got sick.

Alissa and Connor were both especially worried about Travis. Since he wasn't wearing a jacket, he was almost guaranteed at least a small cold. They both hoped that a small cold was all he would catch (if anything) especially since he had kind of become the leader. Sure, any of them could lead, but he could keep them moving the best and they'd move faster with all of them in good health.

The rain hadn't slacked off at all by 10 that night, so they decided to take a risk and stay the night at yet another rest stop. They had decided that rest stops were the best places to stay the night since they weren't far off the interstate, had bathrooms and benches right there, and were well lit. Travis took first shift (against Alissa's will) and let Bandit out to use the bathroom and stretch. He must've been comfy in there, because after doing his business he tried to get back in. Travis laughed softly and pulled his sweatshirt out so Bandit could lay on it. Then he waited...

**A/N: Got another chapter up! Haha yeah don't get used to in ;) Just kidding I'm trying to write as fast as I can, so I'm hoping to have another chapter up soon, but like I said last chapter I've been working on 3 other stories for this account and another one (which is going to be **_**awesome!**_**) on a shared account with some friends. Thanks for all the positive reviews! It honestly made my day, cause I couldn't stop smiling Enjoy!**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9:

As much as Travis didn't want to admit it, he was freezing. Throughout his whole shift it hadn't stopped raining, and he was starting to not feel well. But as usual he wasn't about to let it show. They have enough to worry about already, so why add one more thing?

Bandit interrupted his thoughts by letting out a long, loud snore. Travis had to use all his power to stop himself from laughing and waking everyone else.

Sooner than Travis realized, his shift was over. He woke Connor up for his shift before falling into a long, restless sleep.

The rain had slowed down just a little when Alissa woke the two boys up after her shift. It was colder and more humid than when they had fallen asleep, but the thunder could only be heard in the distance now.

After a small breakfast the three of them headed out into the cold drizzle, with Bandit in the backpack again. They were in Logan, New Mexico now and wanted to be in Amarillo, Texas by dark. Every now and then they would hear a howl in the distance and walk a little faster, but otherwise they walked in silence, listening to the rain hitting the pavement.

Travis had started sniffling and coughing an hour or so after they had started, and naturally Alissa was a little worried. They still hadn't talked and never really made eye contact. She couldn't have him sick too. She asked him a couple times if he felt okay or if he wanted to take a break, but he would just say he was fine or shrug it off.

By noon they were practically running. The howls had been getting closer and closer over time, and Travis, Connor, and Alissa certainly did not want to deal with the beast again. They probably wouldn't have made it out the first time if it wasn't for Jonnie and Brookie.

"Travis, I can't go any farther! I need a break." Connor whined. He knew they needed to keep moving, but he couldn't help it. He was tired and wet and hungry. Anybody would want to stop in that situation.

To his surprise, Travis just nodded and they headed for the next exit ramp. They stopped at a Wendy's and went inside to get out of the rain, with Bandit still comfortable in Travis's backpack.

"Travis, are you sure your okay?" Alissa asked for the 50th time that day. He didn't even bother answering. He just nodded.

Connor stared at him for a few minutes. "Travis, no your not. I can tell." he said. Connor reached over and put a hand on Travis's forehead before he could pull away.

"Dude, your burning up!" Connor said, a little too loudly. A few people turned to look at them. Travis slouched down a little.

"I'm fine! It's just a headache. It'll go away." he said, trying to sound convincing. Alissa and Connor however were not convinced, but they let the subject drop.

They stayed at Wendy's for a while longer, then decided to hit the road again, looking back every few minutes to make sure the beast wasn't behind them. The rain was slowing down, but the damp chill was setting in.

By 9 no one wanted to go any farther. They didn't even have the energy to find an exit ramp, so they crawled up a wall to a ledge under an overpass and decided to stay the night there.

Bandit was running up and down the ledge watching the cars whiz by while the three of them decided on shifts for the night. Travis insisted that he take first shift again, but Alissa and Connor didn't want him to since he needed the rest. In the end, Travis won out and took first shift, with Connor getting second and Alissa getting last again.

20 minutes into his shift Travis was regretting it. His head was pounding, he felt really dizzy and hot, and his cough had gotten worse. He was starting to shiver too when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Connor standing over him, looking very concerned.

"Go on and go to sleep. I'll cover the rest of your shift." Travis started to retaliate, but he didn't have the strength, so he gave in and laid down. Bandit came over and laid between the two boys with his head on Connor's lap. Connor watched as his brother fell asleep, then turned to face the road for his long, tiring shift.

* * *

><p><strong><span>UPDATE:<span>**

**Hey guys! Sooooo so sorry that I haven't uploaded lately! I've seemed to have lost my iPod, which has ALL my new chapters on it :'( I've been looking everywhere for it, but I just can't find it. Luckily I had this chapter saved in my email. If I don't find it soon, I'll just start rewriting chapters (since I had up to chapter 11 done already). Again really sorry that I haven't uploaded! I just wanted to let you know that I had a good reason and that I haven't forgotten about the story. Hope to post again soon! Pray that I find it so I don't have to come up with it again lol. Later!**


	10. Chapter 10

They got an early start the next morning. Travis wasn't any better, and Connor had a small cough now too. They feared that the beast was on their heels now, so they jogged for a while.

Today they didn't stop for lunch or breaks. Bandit got to run around next to them, which he seemed to really enjoy. By noon they were in Amarillo, Texas and were hoping to get to Shamrock by sunset. The ledge had worked pretty well, so Connor, Alissa, and Travis agreed that thats where they should stay the night from now on. Rest stops were getting far too risky.

They found a good overpass around 9:30 and decided to turn in early. Alissa pulled out the now-crumpled map she had printed before they had left home.

"We've been gone 10 days, and were already about halfway there." she said, trying to sound cheerful.

The two boys smiled weakly at her, obviously tired. Who wouldn't be? They all desperately wanted to rest for a day and just sleep, but thanks to whatever's after them they couldn't.

Alissa decided to take first shift since she was the least tired and felt better than the brothers. They fell asleep quickly, leaving her and Bandit alone. She laughed as he licked her hand and rolled over on his back. She gave him a tummy rub and his foot started shaking like he was ticklish, which made Alissa quietly laugh even more. Before she knew it, it was 12:45 am. Her shift had ended fifteen minutes ago.

She leaned over and gently shook Travis awake. He groaned but sat up. Bandit instantly ran to him and sat on his lap. He smiled and scratched the small dog behind the ears.

Alissa had laid down, but she just couldn't fall asleep. Even though her and Travis's fight was a couple days ago, it was still fresh in her mind. The guilt was eating at her soul. She had to apologize.

"Travis?" she asked.

"Hmm?" he mumbled groggily.

She faltered. Would he still be mad? There was only one way to find out.

"I-I'm so sorry." she finally choked out. He didn't say anything.

"I was just frustrated a-and tired. I never should've said the things I said, and I'm sorry I hurt you and Connor." She was sobbing now.

He swallowed hard, staring at the road below, and started to say something but Alissa wasn't quite finished.

"You've by far gone through more than I have. I definitely don't know all that you go through, but Travis-" she took a breath in between sobs.

"Travis, how am I suppose to help you if you won't tell me what's going on?"

The last line hit him hard, but Travis tried not to let it show He took a deep breath to calm himself down and turned to face her before answering.

"Look Alissa" he started, his deep brown eyes staring into her silver-blue ones. "I appreciate the apology, but there's nothing going on. Like you said, I was being a brat. I was just exhausted and moody. I snapped, simple as that."

"Oh please Travis you've always been a bad liar. I saw it in your eyes!" she practically shouted. Connor moved a little, so she took it down a notch.

"When you looked me in the eyes right before you ran up ahead-" she fumbled for the right thing to say. He just continued staring down at the street.

"Travis, there was so much hurt in your eyes. I may forget a lot of things throughout life, but that is one thing that I'll never forget. There's obviously something going on. How can I help if you won't tell me?"

He didn't say anything for a while. Everything that had just been said was still soaking into both of them. A few silent, stray tears dripped down his face before the conversation stopper.

"You can't." he whispered.

Alissa sat on the ledge feeling defeated. _"You can't._" The words echoed in her mind. Travis rarely, rarely cried. Like, ever. Yet here they were. She was sitting here helplessly as something tore her best friend up inside. And there was nothing she could do to help him.

She sat there arguing with herself on whether or not to press him more. The last time she pressed him, it didn't turn out well. She growled frustratedly and laid back down, forcing herself into a confused, restless sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well what do ya know? Another chapter in the same week? It must be a miracle… Lol found my iPod! (haha thanks mama) Thanks for all the reviews and support! I love reading them I'm trying to update more often, but I'm still working on another story for another accont. I really wanna get that story done, so my friends and I set a deadline haha. We now have to have it completely done by Thanksgiving. Anyway, thanks for reading! Review please and let me know what you thought! xoxo**


	11. Chapter 11

Connor's shift came just in time. Ever since Travis and Alissa's little talk, Travis had been thinking about she said. He thought so hard on it that he got a massive headache. After waking Connor up, he fell instantly into a deep sleep, but not at all a pleasant one.  
>Ever since he and Connor had met Alissa, he'd been having strange dreams. Some were just weird, some were terrifying, but they all seemed so... real.<br>He felt like he had only slept a minute or two when Connor woke him up. Alissa was watching from a few feet away, a concerned look on her face. He looked around. The sun was shining brightly all around him. His headache, if anything, had gotten worse.  
>"Are you okay Travis?" Connor asked him.<br>"Yeah. I'm fine" he lied as he looked at his watch. 12:05. "Why didn't you wake me up earlier? Were wasting time."  
>"I tried, but you wouldn't wake up." he said, his voice shaking a little.<br>"Yeah it was like you were unconscious or something. It was kinda scary." Alissa added.  
>"Well I'm fine now, so let's get a move on. We've got a lot of ground to cover."<br>"Are you sure? We've been making pretty good time, and you don't look like you feel good. Why don't we just rest for a day." Connor said.  
>"No. I'm fine! And we've stopped a lot lately. Who knows how close those things are now."<br>"Travis, this is serious. I think we should listen to Connor" Alissa said as she tried to persuade Travis, but he had already grabbed his stuff and started walking, with Bandit trailing right behind him.  
>Connor sighed as he and Alissa grabbed their things and followed after Travis.<br>"I've got a bad feeling about this." Connor said. "Something doesn't feel right." Alissa agreed, but they continued to follow Travis down the highway.  
>Around 6 o'clock is when everything started to really go downhill. All three of them had been feeling weaker and weaker the more they walked. Travis had developed a high fever and a deep cough along with his headache, and now Connor was coughing and Alissa had a headache too. They had put Bandit in "his" backpack again because his paws were tired, and were just about to stop for the night when they heard a howl from not too far behind them. They looked back slightly and started to pick up the pace, when they heard a siren and saw flashing lights behind them. Cops.<br>Alissa, Connor, and Travis took off in a dead sprint as soon as the police car started slowing down next to them. They crossed a lane of traffic, jumped over the median to the other side of the highway, and put all the energy they had left into running.  
>"We've gotta find somewhere to hide. He'll find a place to cross over to this side any minute now." Connor said as they ran.<br>"Well it's either the beasts or the cops, and I think I'd rather go to jail than be eaten alive!" Alissa screamed. Bandit whimpered. They slowed down a little. Their energy was running out too fast. Connor led them off the first exit ramp he saw, and they slowed down a bit more. The cop's siren was still close, but they were hoping he just didn't see them get off the exit.  
>More sirens could be heard in the distance now, but the number of sirens didn't matter to them right now. What mattered was finding a place to hide from them all. Conner, who had pretty much become the leader, led them and tried to keep in hidden in the shadows, looking for whatever hiding spot he could find. The one problem was: there was none.<br>The sounds of sirens could be heard from more than one direction now, and lights could be seen in the distance. They started to sprint again, but it was too late.  
>"Freeze!"<p>

**Haha. Freeze. Very original huh? Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving,readers! (for those who celebrate it). I know you probably getting sick of all the waiting, but I've just gotta finish the last few chapters for a different account and then I'll be back to writing this one. Again, I'm **_**so**_** sorry for all the waiting. I know I'd be frustrated if I were the reader, but I'm doing the best I can. Thanks for all the support, and hopefully I'll be posting another chapter soon **

**P.S. Anyone like the new username? Changed the old one because…well, Braiden was never my boyfriend (although I**_** really**_** wish he was) and at this point he never will be I at least talked to him recently though! Considering I've only talked to him twice…:/ Anyway enough about my epic fail of a love life, anyone see the new profile yet? I don't blame you if you haven't (it's not great lol) but anyone have a favorite part? I'd love to hear! Review please! And check out the amazing British band "Nothing But Thieves"! :D Later guys!**


	12. Chapter 12

"Hands where I can see them!" the cop yelled. Connor glanced at Alissa and Travis. They knew that look all too well.

They ran as fast as they could in the opposite direction, when suddenly it was blocked off too. Connor jumped and slid across the hood, with Travis right behind him, but the cop got out of the car and grabbed Alissa before she, too, could get away.

"Keep going!" she screamed at the brothers. They turned around to run again, but they were already surrounded.

"Get on the ground! Now!" one of the police officers yelled. This time Travis and Connor obeyed. Before they knew it they were handcuffed and thrown in the back of a police cruiser.

"Crap. This isn't good. This is NOT good!" Connor said repeatedly to himself. Travis just sighed and stared out the window. The cop started the car.

"Wait, where's Alissa?" Connor asked. "Oh my gosh…"

"Where is she? Huh? Tell me!" Connor yelled at the cop. "Travis, you gotta do something!" he whined. But Travis just sat there with his head in his hands.

"Calm down, kid. She's in the other car. You're both going to the same place." The cop said, trying to keep his cool through the younger brother's ranting.

"Travis! C'mon bro, what do we do?" Connor yelled at his brother. "Talk to me! What. Do. We. Do?"

"I DON'T KNOW CONNOR!" Travis yelled, helplessness filling his eyes. Connor leaned back. That look always scared him, and he'd been seeing it more and more often lately.

Connor slouched down and groaned loudly. He hated feeling helpless. But the more he thought about it, the angrier he got. They had made it more than halfway across the _stinkin'_ country! There's no way they were going to quit now. He was going to make it to that mysterious address no matter what it takes. Whether he was alone, or not..

Connor started going over all the possible ways to escape in his head. The only problem? There wasn't any. The odds were not going in his favor (but do they ever?).

"The doors are locked, so there's no opportunity for running. Plus, I don't know if any of us could take it," he thought to himself. "And were handcuffed and Alissa's in the other car, so that wouldn't work anyway." Out of frustration, he texted Brookie, being careful not to let the cop see for the fear of him taking it away. He finished, made sure it was switched to silent, and hid it under his leg.

"You two realize you're in big trouble, right? There's been reports coming from California to here about three kids trekking down the highways. Where are you from, and why'd you run away?"

"Shut up and eat you're doughnuts, fatty. I've got the right to remain silent!" Connor thought to himself, but he held his tongue. Silence filled the air.

"Look, this is going to be as easy as you make it. You want it easy, you better start talking," he said, getting irritated now. Connor looked at Travis, who was still sitting with his head buried in his hands. Just by looking at him you could tell he wasn't feeling too hot. He was pretty pale, and starting to tremble slightly. "Guess I'm not getting any help on this one" the younger Stoll thought silently.

"I'm gonna asked you once more," the cop said. He was definitely ticked now. "Where are yo-"

"Long Island, New York" Travis said quietly, head still buried in his hands.

"Okay, then how did you end up in California?" he asked, still being pretty harsh. Connor glanced over at Travis, hoping his older brother had something to say because right now, he had absolutely nothing.

"W-we were on vacation with our cousins in San Diego. It was the last day and we were at the airport getting ready to go home. Our cousins got on the plane, but the three of us missed it. We couldn't afford to get another flight, so we started walking home." Travis finished, his voice shaking. Connor held his breath, hoping the cop was buying it. The cop grunted in reply, but one look at his face and you could tell he felt bad about being so harsh after Travis's clever sob story.

"How old are your cousins?"

Travis hesitated for a split-second, but the cop didn't seem to notice. "Seventeen and nineteen." The Police officer scoffed.

"You mean to tell me your parents let you go all the way across the country with a couple teenagers?"

Travis shot his sibling a desperate look that said "_I'm done. Please take over!"_

"They're responsible! It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. They had to let us go!" Connor pleaded. The police officer mumbled something inaudible, then fell silent for the rest of the drive.

They arrived at the police station twenty minutes later. The other police officer's met them out front and helped Connor and Travis out of the car before leading them inside. They were escorted down a few hallways and into an office. The cop that had arrested and drove them there whispered something to another officer before leaving the room. The officer he had talked to- a police woman- came over, pulled out a key, and took their handcuffs off. The two boys sat down on a couch.

"Just wait here for now. Officer Riley will be here shortly" she said, smiling warmly at the two brothers.

"Yeah, not like we have a choice" Connor mumbled. Luckily, she didn't seem to hear.

"Is there anything I can get you?" she asked.

"Out of here would be nice" Connor muttered. This time she heard, but she just laughed.

"Okay well, I don't think I can do that just yet. But seriously, anything?" she looked at both boys, her eyes stopping for a few seconds longer at Travis, who was just leaning his head against the wall. "Um, how about some food and water?"

Connor shrugged, nodded, and managed a weak "thank you" to the lady before she left them feeling utterly alone in that room. She came back a few minutes later with some water, pretzels, and Alissa. Connor jumped off the couch as soon as she entered the room, relief flooding his face. He engulfed her in a huge bear hug. The police woman chuckled, taking in the scene before her.

"Here you go" she said as she handed out the water and food. Each of them accepted it gratefully. Connor, Alissa, and Travis talked quietly amongst themselves as they waited for the officer.

He walked in moments later and introduced himself before getting down to business. He asked them a bunch of questions, and talked to them for over an hour. The three teens just sat on the couch and calmly answered each question. Alissa let the boys do most the talking, since they had only briefly been able to clue her in on the cover story.

"Okay, well you can have one phone call. Talk about it for a minute, then whoever's gonna make the call just walk out the door and someone will take you to the phones," he said, being surprisingly kind about the whole thing. "Oh and here" he said, tossing Travis a little packet of Tylenol. "Looks like you need these" he said. Travis smiled gratefully and popped the pills into his mouth as Officer Riley left the room.

Connor got up off the couch. "Where are you going?" Alissa asked him.

"To make the call, duh" he replied slyly.

"But who are we call-" Travis was interrupted as Connor tossed him his phone. "Read my last few texts. You'll figure it out" he said, and grin spreading across his face as he left the room. Travis opened the phone and pulled up his brother's last texting conversation, letting Alissa read over his shoulder.

_Connor- "Deep trouble now. Just got arrested in Chandler, OK."_

_Brookie- "Shoot. What are you going to do?"_

_Connor- "No idea"_

_Brookie- "Jonnie and I got a call from our manager. Gotta be in NYC. Heading there now. Bail you out on the way? ^.^"_

_Connor- "Oh come on be serious, we're in trouble here! How do you think you'd ever pull that off, anyway?"_

_Brookie- "Dunno, but we will. What should we say when we get there?"_

_Connor- "Don't do this"_

_Brookie- "Too late. On our way. What should we say when we get there?"_

_Connor- "…You two are the craziest people I've ever met. Calling you. You're our cousins who left us in San Diego. Just play along.."_

"Oh, no way" Alissa said, shocked. Travis didn't even bother saying anything. "There's no way they'll pull that off. We're gonna get-" she stopped as the door handle turned. Travis slid Connor's phone into his back pocket as the nice police woman walked in.

"Come with me" she said. They hopped up and followed her out the door and into what appeared to be a lounge area. "This room is kind of a spare. You'll be staying here till someone picks you up. There's food and drinks in the fridge. Help yourself," she smiled that kind, warm smile again. Travis and Alissa thanked her before she left again.

**A/N: Man, time flies. I'm SO SO SO sorry for not updating sooner! I've got good news and bad news. Good news is…I'm still going to write this story no matter what. The thought of quitting this story never crossed my mind, and it never will. Thanks to all the concerns Bad news is, the more I tried to write this story, the more writers block I got and the more ideas I got for other stories. So I've decided to take the rest of this year (which is only like, a few days) off from this story to work on some other ideas and finish the ones I've already started. I will be writing more chapters for this story throughout January, so hopefully it will be mostly done and I can start posting again by February or sooner. I know, it seems like a long time, but if you'd just hang with me I would GREATLY appreciate it. I've been super busy lately, so it's been very difficult to post. Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Kind of a filler, since it took over a month to type it (no thanks to writers block). Please review! Comments and criticism are both handy for me :D Thanks for hanging with me all this time, and I hope you' enjoy what I have planned for the future! Xx –ILoveBYE**

**P.S. Don't remember if I mentioned this yet (its been so long) but if anyone's interested in reading my collaboration story, it's called "Endurance: Ogygia" and its by the author "FlameWallet". Sorry I don't have a link, but it'd be much appreciated if you read/reviewed it :D Merry Christmas everyone!**


	13. Chapter 13

Connor carefully punched in Brookie's number (that he had only recently memorized) on the phone. He waited as it rang. She picked up on the third ring.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Brooke! It's Connor, your cousin!" He could here her scream on the other end of the phone. He chuckled.

"Oh my gosh we've been so worried! I'm so sorry about this whole thing! Your parents have been freaking out for weeks now! Where are you guys? Is Travis and Alissa with you?"" she said, talking a mile a minute.

_"Good"_ Connor thought. _"She figured out that the call is being monitored."_ "Yeah, they are. Were at a police station in Chandler, Oklahoma."

"Well were coming to get you, so don't go anywhere" she said.

"We don't have a choice!"

She chuckled. "Jonnie and I will be there in a few hours. Do you want to call your parents or do you want us to?"

"You better. This is the only phone call we were given."

"Okay." Her voice cracked, making it sound like she was crying. "I'm so glad they found you. I'm so sorry about this whole thing! We thought of everything we could and still couldn't find a way to come up with enough money for plane tickets!"

"It's okay, Brookie. We're all fine. We'll be back together soon enough. Love you," Connor said.

"Love you too." she said. She hung up, leaving Connor to think. Had she really meant those last words? He had said it as part of the act, but could she have meant it? He tried to rid the thought from his mind, but secretly, he hoped so.

Connor walked out of the room and an officer led him back to a lounge area. Travis and Alissa were sitting on the couch, waiting for him. They jumped up as soon as he entered the room.

"Did you get a hold of them?" Alissa asked eagerly.

Connor nodded. "Brooke and Jonnie will be here in a couple hours to pick us up." Relief spread across both their faces. Travis glanced over Connor's shoulder towards the doorway, making sure the cop had left, before handing his brother's cell phone back. The screen lit up, showing a new text from Brookie.

_'Brookie- How was that?'_

Connor quickly replied.

_'Connor-Amazing! Take your time getting here. They think you're driving from New York.'_

Within minutes, his phone buzzed again.

_'Brookie- Sweet. Starbucks and Chipotle here we come! ;)'_

"So what will they do when they get here?" Travis asked. Connor hesitated.  
>"I'm...not really sure." Worry shot through Alissa and Travis's faces. "But I'm sure they'll figure out something!" he added. "She could've won an award for the performance she created with the phone call."<p>

"Let's hope" Alissa said quietly. No one spoke, making the room awkwardly silent except for the various noises coming from outside the door.

"Well I don't know about you guys, but sleep sounds amazing right now" Travis said. The others agreed.

"We have at least six hours to kill before they get here." Connor said as he settled into the recliner in the corner of the room.

"Six?" Alissa questioned, settling on the side of the couch opposite Travis.

"Yeah, a certain blondie may have decided she needed a refill on Chipotle and Starbucks..."  
>Alissa groaned jokingly. Within minutes they had all fallen into a much needed sleep.<p>

-(line)-  
>"Love you too" Brookie said before hanging up. Jonnie turned her head away from the road to look at her sister.<p>

"He said he loved you?"

"I'm sure it was just part of the act" Brookie said quickly, but she was blushing slightly as she texted him.

"Hmm" Jonnie said, smiling slightly.

"I'm serious!"

"Oh I believe you!" Jonnie replied. "But did _you_ mean it?" Brookie didn't answer. "Oooh someone's got a crush!"

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't." Brookie countered. "But don't even try to act like your not head over heels for his _brother_!"

Jonnie laughed. "I wouldn't say head over heels, but hey! I'm single and need a boyfriend, he's hot and mysterious. I can't help but be the _least_ bit interested."

"Well then talk to him! Just by the little bit we've been around him, I'm pretty sure he won't be the one starting many conversations."

"Maybe..." was all Jonnie said. They let the subject drop. Brookie's phone buzzed in the lap.

_'Connor- Great! Take your time getting here. They think you're driving from New York.'_

She quickly replied:

_'Brookie- Sweet! Starbucks and Chipotle here we come! ;)'_

"Hey, Connor said to stop and get Chipotle and Starbucks because the cops think we're driving from New York," Brookie said.

Jonnie looked at her skeptically. "You sure that's what he said?"

"Well...that's what he meant." Both the sisters laughed and began their search for the two restaurants.

**A/N: And I'm BACK! Sports season is officially over, so I FINALLY have time to breathe (and write, too). Hope you enjoyed the chapter! As much as I wanted (and told you guys) that I'd write for a month and have tons of chapters to post…I just finished this one today. But I will be trying to upload AT LEAST a chapter a week! As many of you know I type this on my iPhone, then send it to email, edit in Word, and then post it to FF (I know, long process, but it works well for me!). Unfortunately my school has a very strict "no electronics during school hours" policy, which knocks out most my writing time since I write the most during school hours, but I WILL find a way! Thanks for all the reviews! Keep 'em coming! Thanks for reading :D**

**Ally (anon): Thanks for the review! I know it's not entirely accurate (considering I read the series about a year ago haha), but would you mind telling me what's not? Sorry, I don't think your wrong or anything (in fact, I'm sure you're probably right!) but I would just really like to know so I can keep it in mind for future chapters :) **


	14. Chapter 14

_**Chapter 14**_

Travis woke up in a cold sweat. Another nightmare, but this one wasn't about monsters. This was about him. Images of his dad right before he left had flickered through his mind. His mom screaming at him, hitting him, cursing he and Connor out. Kids at school bullying Connor, then him getting knocked around for making them stop. The night when he got his wrist snapped. Even embarrassing moments like when a little kid pants'd him in front of his entire class or when the football that would've sent them to the state championship bounced right off his helmet, came back to haunt him.

He stood up, a little too quickly, and instantly a wave of nausea rolled over him. He steadied himself, holding onto the couch for support. His whole body ached from head to toe. Alissa stirred on the other end of the couch. Not wanting to wake either her or Connor (who was still in the recliner) and because he was feeling a bit woozy, Travis stumbled out of the room to the bathrooms. A few police officers eyed him suspiciously, but didn't say anything.

He made his way to the sinks, shifting his body weight as he leaned against the counter, arms trembling. A chill had began to take over Travis's body, making him shiver even though he felt like he was in a sauna.

"What is wrong with me?" Travis thought, frustratedly. He began to splash his face with cold water from the faucet, when he broke into a coughing fit. Cough after cough after cough kept coming, each trying to choke him. He spat into the still-running sink. Fear really began to set it when he saw the reddish tint to it. Travis's breathing became short and shallow, like he couldn't fully catch his breath. Somewhere behind him, a door opened.

"Travis?" He looked up to see Connor's reflection in the mirror, coming towards him. Worry was scrawled all over his face.

"What's wrong?" He continued to breathe harder. "Travis, breathe. Calm down. You've _gotta_ calm down!" Travis tried, but he couldn't shake the shortness of breath.  
>"In and out, in and out. Help!" Connor shouted as he tried to get his brother to relax. Travis shook his head, trying to get the message across that had started to become a habit: <em>He didn't want their help. <em>

Connor grabbed his older brother by the shoulders, looking into his eyes. "Relax, Travis. Breathe. You need to calm down. Deep breaths" he instructed. Travis tried. Gradually, his breathing started to return to normal. He leaned against the wall, sliding down till he was on the floor. Connor crouched down next to him, eyebrows knit together in concern.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I'm fine-"

"Don't even start with me, Travis. What happened?"

Travis squeezed his eyes shut. The feeling that someone was drilling into his head with a jack hammer had returned.

"I woke up and I didn't feel good, so I came in here. I was splashing my face with water and I started coughing. The breathing came after that."

"Didn't feel good how?"

Travis shrugged. "Nauseous, dizzy, cold, stuff like that..."

Connor sighed. "Travis, you _need_ to tell them!" he said, nodding towards the door. "They can help you."

"No, I'm fine."

"Clearly, your not!" Connor said, raising his voice.

"Knock it off, Connor!" he said, clutching his head. Connor softened just a little.

"Headache's back?" he asked. Travis nodded, whimpering. Connor sighed.

"Officer Riley said to help ourselves to the showers. They gave us each a change of clothes. We could see about getting more Tylenol when we're done."

Travis went ahead and nodded again. As much as he didn't feel like getting a shower right now, he knew he needed one.

Connor left the room and headed back to the lounge to grab the clothes.

"Did you find him?" Alissa asked. Connor nodded. "Is he okay?"

Connor shrugged. "Says he is." Alissa rolled her eyes. "We're gonna go ahead and get our showers," he said as he picked up the stack of clothing.

"I'll go ahead and get mine too then."

They both headed out of the lounge. Alissa went into the girls restroom while Connor continued. Travis was already in one of the shower stalls when he got back.

"Hey your clothes are on the bench, okay?"

"Yeah thanks" he said.

They showered quickly and got dressed before heading back to the lounge.

**A/N: Sorry, sort of a filler but I really wanted to post tonight to keep my promise of updating every week. As you can probably tell by now, I am a fan of Travis drama (EXCEPT anything Tratie related. Sorry, but I can't stand those…) Haha anyhow hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you wouldn't mind, please leave any ideas you have in your review! I can't guarantee I'll be able to use them, but I'd at least have some more ideas to work with :)**

**Thanks so much for all the reviews and all the people who subscribed last chapter! I have never smiled so much while checking email haha thanks again!**

**Oh, and before I forget…For those of you who don't know, I do collaboration stories with a couple of my friends on another account called FlameWallet (long story hahaha). Our latest story is called Endurance: Ogygia, and were pretty proud of it so far! It would mean a ton if you all could check it out and review it! Here's the link: http:/www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/s/7578263/1/bEndurance_b_bOgygia_b Just remove the dot parts :) Thanks again!**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Jonnie and Brookie pulled into the parking lot of the police station and hurried through the main doors.

"Hi, we're here for our cousins" Brookie said quickly to the lady at the front desk.

"Names please?" the officer asked.

"Travis, Connor, and Alissa" Brookie responded quickly.

"No, _your _names."

"Oh" Brookie said, embarrassed. "Jonnie and Brooke Allen." The police officer typed quickly over the keyboard of her computer.

"Shannon?" a man said from behind them said. The receptionist looked up. "I'll take it from here. Follow me girls." The two sisters gave each other a quick reassuring glance before following the man into an office. "I'm Officer Riley" he introduced himself, shaking each of their hands. "And I'm assuming you must be Marissa and Julie?"

The girls looked at each other in confusion. "Um, no" Jonnie started. "I'm Jonnie Allen, and this is my sister Brooke. We're Connor, Travis, and Alissa's cousins from Long Island."

Officer Riley smiled. "Good. You've passed test #1" he said mischievously. "Your cousins are quite brave. You must've been very worried."

"Extremely" Jonnie answered.

"I don't know what we would've done if they had gotten hurt!" Brookie forced tears to her eyes, a shaky edge to her voice. "We cried everyday, wondering if we'd ever see them again; if we should spend the rest of our savings on gas to go find them. We were praying everyday that God would bring them home safely. That phone call was the most relieving thing in the world." Jonnie nodded in agreement.

"Well, I'm glad our officers stumbled upon them. It sounds like you all have been through some tough times, from what Connor has told me."

"You have no idea" Jonnie said earnestly."So, when can we see them?"

"I just need to see some form of ID for both of you." Jonnie and Brookie both pulled out their drivers licenses. Officer Riley looked at them and scribbled a couple things down on his clipboard. "Follow me" he said as he stood up. "The boys and Alissa are in the lounge. They showered about three hours ago." He knocked on the doorframe lightly before walking into the room.

Alissa jumped up off the couch and met both girls with a group hug.

"I missed you guys so much" she said, silent tears trickling down her face. Connor shook Travis awake from his spot on the couch.

"We missed you guys too!" Brookie said, sobbing. Alissa stepped away so Jonnie and Brookie could hug Connor and Travis. "Jonnie and I have been worried sick ever since the plane left San Diego!"

"I cannot tell you guys how sorry I am for this whole thing!" Jonnie said, her arms wrapped tightly around Travis and his around her. Her voice was muffled in his t-shirt. "This is all my fault!" She was crying now, too.

"Shh" Travis said soothingly. "Don't apologize. It wasn't your fault." He held her head to his chest as she trembled, crying.

"You'll have to tell us _everything_ that's happened since we got separated in the car, okay?" Brookie asked Connor, pulling back from their hug and placing her hands on his shoulders. He nodded.

"So are we allowed to go now, Officer Riley?" Alissa asked. He chuckled.

"Eager to go home, are we?" A chorus of "yes's" and "definitely's" sounded from the group. "We just need you, Jonnie and Brooke, to sign a release form for them, then you guys are free to go." The sister's nodded and signed on the dotted line.

"Thank you so _so_ much, again Officer" Jonnie said. They were standing in the front lobby.

"Not a problem." He smiled at the reunited "family". "Have a safe drive home, guys." They group-hugged the officer before he could protest. He started heading towards the parking lot, but he stopped them. "Oh! I almost forgot. Shannon, can you go get that "package" we discussed?"

She smiled. "Yes sir!" Shannon walked off to a room in the back, then returned a minute later with none other than their fuzzy friend, Bandit, wearing a little bandana around his neck along with a leash.

"Bandit!" Alissa, Connor, and Travis yelled and dropped to the floor, petting the little dachshund. Jonnie and Brookie quickly joined them.

"He was in the backpack we confiscated. We figured he'd be happier with you five than at the pound. That is, if you want to keep him."

"Of course we want to keep him!" Jonnie said before anyone could even ask. Travis grinned at her, gratefulness written across his face.

"Thank you" Alissa said as they walked out the door with Bandit at their heels.

No one said a word till they had pulled away from the police station.

"Okay, are we good or what?" Brookie squealed as she went around high fiving each of her friends (aside from Jonnie, who was driving again).

"You two should really go into the acting business! That was an Oscar-worthy performance" Connor said.

"Well, you three weren't so bad yourself!" Jonnie added, laughing.

Alissa smiled. "Seriously, though. That was _amazing_! Thank you guys SO much!"

"Yeah, I have no idea how we would've gotten out of that one! We'd probably be back in San Diego right now if it weren't for you guys." Travis said.

"Don't mention it!" Jonnie said.

"Yeah" Brookie added." You guys are our friends! We have absolutely no problem helping you guys out."

"Well, thank you." Travis said once more. "Thanks a lot." The girls smiled at him.

"And thanks for letting us bring Bandit!" Connor added.

Brookie laughed. "So that's what his name is! No problem! We love dogs. I'm assuming you picked him up on the road?"

"Yup!" Alissa answered. "Found him the day we left you guys, I think. He's been with us ever since!"

"Well, he's adorable!" Jonnie said. Silence settled over the car.

"So do you guys want to stop anywhere to eat or anything?" Brookie asked.

"No, it's okay. Unless you guys want to. Besides, we don't have money anyway." Connor said.

"Don't worry about money!" Jonnie said. "Taco Bell okay with you guys?"

"You really don't have t-"

"No, no its okay! We want to! Now, taco bell okay? Or would you rather somewhere else?"

Connor chuckled along with Travis and Alissa. "Yeah, that's fine."

Bandit got up from his spot on the back seat and jumped into Brookie's lap. She giggled.

"Don't worry, boy. We'll get you something too!" He licked her hand as she stroked the little dog's head.

**A/N: Okay, I was a little worried when the last chapter didn't get any reviews :? Did the alert go through? I posted another chapter of Endurance: Ogygia at the same time, and someone messaged me and said they had reviewed and it didn't show up, so I guess FanFiction messed up or something? I don't know, but anyway! Review and let me know what you think! Sorry this chapter was a little late. I normally work on this throughout the week, but I just typed the whole thing while trying to keep myself off of my latest addiction…instagram. Haha well thanks for reading! Happy Valentines Day :)**


	16. Chapter 16

**Book of Stoll 16**

"You what?" Brookie practically shouted. The 5 friends were sitting in a booth at Taco Bell. Everyone in the store turned to look at her. "Sorry" she said, blushing as she covered her mouth with her hand. The others laughed.

"We were surrounded by cops, so we tried to get away. Travis and I did what they do in the movies and slid across the hood of one of the cruisers, but the cop grabbed Alissa before she could get across." Connor said.

"And by the time we turned back around they had surrounded us again." Travis added.

"Then I had to watch as they made them lay face down on the pavement, handcuffed them, and put them in the back of a different cruiser!" Alissa finished. Even though it had been a terrifying moment when it happened, they were all laughing now.

"That's crazy" Jonnie said after their laughter had subsided a little.

"I wonder how many news channels you guys have been on since you left San Diego?"

Connor shrugged. "Doesn't matter, really." A moment of silence passed through the group as they finished eating.

"Welp, **(A/N: I ALWAYS find myself saying that...)**are you guys ready?" Jonnie asked. They all nodded. "Let's hit the road!" They tossed their trash away and headed back towards the car. Connor walked Bandit around for a few minutes so he could stretch and use the restroom. Then they were off again.

* * *

><p>Travis jumped, arousing himself from his nightmares. He felt awful.<p>

"You okay?" Jonnie asked. She was the only one still awake since it was her turn to drive. Travis swallowed hard and nodded.

"Yeah, just a nightmare" he said, shaken.

Jonnie was silent for a moment, trying to find the right words. "Want to tell me what it was about?"

Travis hesitated. Did he really want to tell her about it? About every cruel, heartless thing anyone had ever said to him? About how so many people had abused him in one way or another over the years?

"It's...well it's kind of- uh...it's a long story" He finally managed to spit out.

"Well, we've got time, if you want to talk about it." Her eyes met his through the rear view mirror as she gave him a gentle, encouraging smile.

_'What is up with girls and talking?_' he thought to himself. Just as he decided to spill- at least a little- Alissa yawned and sat up.

"Where are we?" she asked sleepily.

"Close to Collinsville, Missouri, I think." Jonnie replied.

"Oh. Okay." And with one last yawn, Alissa fell back to sleep.

_'Well that didn't help much'_ the older Stoll thought to himself. He tried to think of a way to keep their conversation from drifting back to where it had been heading.

"I'll drive for a while if you want. I've got my license." he offered.

"Oh its okay, you don't have to do that."

"No, I need to. You guys have done so much for us the least I can do is let you rest for a while. I doubt I'll get much sleep now anyway."

"Okay, if you insist." Jonnie said, pulling the car off the side of the road. Travis hopped out of the car and waited for Jonnie to slide in next to Alissa before shutting the door for her. He was just about to jump in the driver's seat when he heard it. A lone howl, loud, clear, and eerily close sounded from somewhere behind him. He stiffened with fear and quickly slid into the front seat. He put the gear in drive and pulled back onto the interstate. As he drove, he watched Jonnie through the mirror, waiting till she fell asleep before slowly hitting the accelerator a little more.

* * *

><p>"Brookie" Travis said quietly as he gentle shook the blonde awake.<p>

"Hmm?" she hummed groggily, sitting up a little. It was 3:35 in the morning.

"Sorry" he whispered sheepishly. "But we need gas. The tank's been on empty for the last half hour or so."

She chuckled tiredly. "Typical guy. Always wait till the car starts to slow down before you stop." Travis shrugged, smiling.

"So Jonnie stuck you with the driving, huh?" They were standing outside near the pump. Her arms were wrapped around herself, trying to find a little warmth in the cold night air.

"Nah. I volunteered. Couldn't sleep anyway," he said. The pump stopped. Travis pulled it out and put it back as Brookie swiped her gas card and paid. He made sure the gas cap was on tightly, then got back in the car along with Brookie. She fell back asleep within minutes of pulling away from the station, but Travis didn't mind a bit. The silence was needed.

He tried to sort through all his thoughts for hours, but got no where. With a sigh, Travis turned the radio up just a bit. It was 5 o clock, channel 97.8's dub step hour, the music that is comforting to the disturbed and disturbing to the comfortable. And Travis felt he was becoming just that: a disturbed kid.

**A/N: Well, sports season is finally over, as well as piano and this quarter of school. Sorry I haven't been updating :( I won't even bother with the whole I've-been-super-busy excuse because you guys already know how that is. Surprised at how many new readers I've gotten since the last chapter, especially recently! Makes me wonder how you even found my story. I haven't updated in so long it's probably buried deep in the PJO archives. Hopefully that will change this time! Lots of drama to come ^.^ Especially Travis drama, because that my favorite to write haha anyway. Thanks for reading! Review are greatly appreciated :-) xo**

**For the new readers: the main reason I haven't been updating lately is because I've been hard at work on a collaboration for a different account me and my friends have. It's also a PJO Fic called Endurance Ogygia, and I'd love for you to check it out! The link should be on my profile, but if it's not just search for it (account name is FlameWallet). Only got about half a chapter left to write on that one, then we've just got to upload them :)Hopefully I can update that one (and maybe this one) in the next few days!**


	17. Chapter 17

Jonnie awoke the next morning to see that they were parked in front of a McDonalds. Alissa, Connor, and Brookie were still asleep, but Travis was nowhere to be found.

"He probably just went to the bathroom" she thought to herself as she unbuckled her seatbelt and quietly got out of the car. She went inside and looked around, but he was nowhere to be found. After waiting in line to use the girls restroom, she decided to look around outside.

Jonnie glanced around the building and the adjoining gas station, but still didn't see him. Worry slowly started to form in the pit of her stomach.

_ "Where could he have gone?"_ she thought to herself. She passed under a billboard that said _"Welcome to Indianapolis"_ and headed down a fog-covered path. She stopped when she reached a metal railing, letting the fog clear a little before she looked around. The railing went around the perimeter of a large retention pond. The fog hovered above the surface of the water, the sunlight that was just starting to appear reflecting off of it. Jonnie breathed deeply, inhaling the fresh morning air as she took in the beautiful sight before her. Her thoughts were interrupted by a small bark.

She looked down the fog covered path a little ways to see Bandit bounding towards her. Just beyond, she could make out the form of another person leaning on the railing, looking at the water. Travis.

"Hey little guy!" Jonnie said, using her best "doggie voice". "So this is where you've been!" She laughed as he licked her face, then picked the little dog up and began walking towards Travis.

"So this is where you've been" she said, this time to Travis as she leaned against the railing, cradling Bandit to her chest. Travis nodded once, wordlessly, and continued to stare out at the water. Jonnie set Bandit back down on the ground with one last pat, and then turned to look out at the water, letting the silence linger for a little bit. "You know, we never finished our conversation last night." No response. "That was a clever way to change the subject." She pressed him a little more.

"Well maybe that was because I don't want to talk about it," Travis finally answered. She looked at his face, the rising sun reflecting in his chocolate brown eyes.

"Well then why didn't you just tell me that?" He went back to not answering. "I think you do want to talk about it. I think that you're just scared to."

"And how would you know that? Huh? How would you know what I think?" Jonnie sighed, a little disappointed that this wasn't going as well as she had hoped, but she kept being patient.

"Travis, were friends now. We have been for a while now. Heck, I helped break you out of jail! I think I know you enough by now to know when something's bothering you."

He scoffed. "Yeah keep telling yourself that." She opened her mouth to respond, but he cut her off. "You know what? Just stop. I'm sick and tired of people saying they _'know_' me. That they understand what I'm going through and that they understand and all this other crap. Bottom line is they don't. You don't. Alissa doesn't. Brookie doesn't. Connor doesn't; in fact, Connor doesn't even know the half of it. No one does, and no one ever will. So just lay off, okay?"

She was taken back by his anger, but didn't push him anymore. She could see his breath in the chilly air out of the corner of her eye, swirling around in the air as he fumed to himself silently. After a few minutes, he just turned and stormed away. Jonnie watched him sadly, the feeling of guilt slowly creeping into her head. She sank to the ground, pulling her knees to her chest as she leaned her back against the railing. Bandit ran up to her, laying his head in her lap and staring up at her with big, puppy dog eyes.

"This is all my fault" she said quietly to the dog. Bandit licked her cheek in an effort to cheer her up, but it didn't work this time. He crawled into her lap, offering a comforting silence.

"_God, please give me a way to help him_" Jonnie prayed quietly. She stood up, wiped the few tears that had slipped from her eyes, and walked back up the trail towards the parking lot. Bandit followed closely behind.

Jonnie didn't see anyone in the car when she got back to the parking lot, so she went ahead inside, giving Bandit the 'stay' command near the car since she didn't have the keys. Alissa, Connor, and Brookie were sitting at a booth in McDonald's, eating breakfast.

"Hey! Where've you been?" Brookie asked cheerily.

"Just looking around. Where's Travis?"

"Oh, he's laying in the backseat of the car" Connor answered. "He said he didn't feel good." Jonnie's heart sank a little, the words _"It's all my fault"_ ringing in the back of her mind over and over again. Brookie handed her an egg biscuit and an iced mocha. She accepted it, but only picked at the biscuit. Brookie shot her a few curious looks, but Jonnie refused to speak about it. This was between her and Travis, and she planned to keep it that way.

They finished there food and headed back towards the car. Travis had brought Bandit in sometime while they were inside, and now they were both asleep on top of each other in the back seat. Brookie snuck around to the side of the car, gently opened the door, and took a picture with her phone. She had the flash on and didn't realize it though, so it woke both dog and boy up. Travis put on a tired, fake smile, sat up, buckled his seatbelt, and was asleep again- or at least pretending to be- before the car had even left the parking lot.

**A/N: Too tired to write a long authors note tonight. Hope you enjoyed the chapter! And the last one too since fan fiction messed up again and it didn't show any reviews for the last chapter (assuming there were any haha). Hopefully I'll be able to write longer chapters from now on, since I feel like the last few have been pretty short. Make sure you go check out my collab story called "Endurance: Ogygia" on FlameWallet's account! Later guys xx**

**Oh and before I forget…WHO SAW THE HUNGER GAMES? I'm a huge fan (read all the books!) and I've seen it twice in the three days it's been out! It was so good! Let me know what you thought of it! Leave a comment in your review, PM me, anything! I'd love to hear that and any ideas you'd like to share for this story :)**


	18. Chapter 18

**DISCLAIMER: This chapter contains self harm**

The next few days seemed to pass in a blur. The more the group traveled, the closer they got to New York, and sadly for some, the closer they got to the time the group would have to separate.

Jonnie hadn't told anyone about her little dispute with Travis in Indianapolis, but it didn't really take a rocket scientist to figure out that something had gone down between the two teens. Brookie, Connor, and Alissa tried more than once to talk to Travis about it, but it only seemed to push him farther away from the group.

"Look Brookie. I appreciate your concern, but what happened between Travis and I is private. It needs to stay just between the two of us. If he decides to tell you, fine. But you won't be hearing it from me. Understand?" Jonnie asked her sister as they drove through Columbus, Ohio one night. The clock read 1:53, and the brothers and Alissa were sound asleep.

Brookie hesitated, but nodded. "Just one last question."

Jonnie sighed. "Go for it."

"Did it have anything to do with you guys _potentially_ going out?"

Jonnie rolled her eyes. "No, not at all. There's nothing between us. There never was."

"But what if there is?"

Jonnie was silent for a moment. "Then we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. But as of right now there definitely isn't." Brookie wasn't sure if that was entirely true, but she let the subject die. Maybe she was just a hopeless romantic.

The next day however, Brookie decided to talk to Travis. He had been completely blowing off everybody lately, and she had had about enough.

Her opportunity came quickly. The group had stopped at a gas station on the outskirts of York, Pennsylvania, and all but Travis (and Brookie, who was pumping gas into the car) had gone inside to get food.

"I don't know if you've noticed" Brookie began, trying to keep her mixed emotions under control. "But you haven't been acting normal lately. Is something going on?"

Travis chuckled, playing dumb as he laid on the trunk of the car, hands over his face to block out light. "What would make you say that?" he asked smugly.

Brookie lost it. "Don't play stupid with me Travis. Something's obviously wrong. You've been a complete jerk to my sister lately and you've been ignoring everyone else. I don't know what went down between you two, but you better quit pouting and apologize because I've about had it."

Travis removed his hands from his face and stood up to face her. "_I _need to apologize? She's the one who should be apologizing!"

"Why should she? She didn't do _anything_!"

"How would you know? You weren't there!"

Their conversation had grown to a shouting match.

"I know my sister. She was just trying to help! It'd be nice if you wouldn't be such a brat about it!"

"MAYBE I DON'T WANT HER HELP! Maybe if I'm causing so many problems I should just kill myself!" Travis yelled, a slightly crazed look in his eyes. "Save someone else the trouble." The last line was mumbled as he stared past Brookie. Then without another word he opened the car door, slung his bag over his shoulder, and took off.

Brookie turned to see Connor, Alissa, and Jonnie standing ten feet from the car, looking just as shocked as she was. _How could he say something like that? _She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing would come out.

"Here," Connor said quietly, handing Brookie her food. The three girls followed him to a picnic table on the side of the building. Stunned silence settled over the group as they picked at their food.

"I'm sorry." Brookie's voice was barely audible as tears began to slip down her cheeks. "I didn't know he...I-I mean I was just trying to-" Her voice gave out to sobbing. Connor walked over and sat down next to her, pulling her trembling body to him in a hug as he stroked her hair soothingly.

"Do you think he...you know. Meant it?" Alissa asked hesitantly, like she was afraid to her the answer.

Connor shrugged. "I honestly don't know. I mean, I'd like to think he didn't, but-" His voice was tight as a single tear rolled down his face.

"Why would he even say something like that?" Jonnie asked. "Does he honestly think that he'd-" She swallowed hard. "-that he'd be better off dead?"

No one wanted to answer or even think about the last question. The reason anyone, especially Travis, would actually believe something like that was beyond them. They say quietly, picking at their now cold food and hoping Travis would come walking back and join them like nothing had happened. Brookie couldn't get rid of the fear that if he didn't come back- if they never saw him alive again- that it was all her fault. She had pushed him over the edge.

* * *

><p>Travis sprinted as soon as he was out of sight. He ran and ran into the woods till his legs refused to carry him any farther. He collapsed by a small brook, panting heavily. His stomach growled violently; he hadn't eaten anything in days, but he wasn't hungry. The emptiness in his stomach seemed to soothe the emptiness he felt in his life.<p>

Travis dumped out the content of his backpack on the ground and began to go through it. A half empty water bottle, a sweatshirt, some matches, his cellphone (that had been dead for a while) and charger, and Bandit's bandana were some of the few items that fell out. Nothing incredibly helpful, but not useless either.

A gleaming object caught his eye. He picked up the little pocketknife his dad had given him. Travis had thought he'd lost it a while ago. He flipped it open, staring at his reflection in the blade. Without thinking twice he slid the blade across his wrist once, twice, three times, wincing as the blood- his blood- began to flow. The blood ran down his arm, dripping onto the soil. He let it flow until he began to get dizzy, then rinsed the wound off in the brook and tied Bandit's bandana tightly around it. With a sigh, he leaned against the trunk of a tree, allowing the throbbing pain to take over his mind and thoughts.

He could do it. With the little blade he could end it all. They wouldn't be able to find him for days, and by then it would definitely be too late to do anything about it. So what was stopping him?

With tear-filled eyes, Travis lifted the blade to his throat. Images flashed before his eyes, the last one being Connor's face as the words_ "I should just kill myself" _tumbled off his lips. He hadn't even seen Connor and the girls approaching, but when he did it was too late. The pain Travis felt from the stunned, fearful look on his little brother's face made the rest of the hurt and pain he was feeling seem like a mere paper cut.

Travis pulled the blade away. He couldn't do it. Maybe after they get to the address; after he knew Connor was safe. Then he would do it. But not now. Connor may be getting older, but he still needed his big brother.

And to be honest, Travis needed him too.

**A/N: Hard chapter to write. Sorry it took so long. I had bad writers block because I didn't really want to write another chapter with Travis drama in it so soon. Then I realized that MOST of this story is Travis drama :P Oh well, hope you enjoy. Might have another chapter up before Friday, otherwise don't expect another update till the 22nd or so. I won't have access to a computer for a couple weeks. Review please! Let me know if you have any comments, complaints, or ideas :-)**


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Travis awoke a little before dawn. Between the many nightmares and long hours he had spent thinking, Travis felt as if he'd hardly slept. The bandana he had tied around his wrist was thoroughly soaked with blood, making the already red fabric seem even darker. He winced as he untied the fabric and rinsed it off in the stream, then rinsed his arm off as well. The wounds had stopped bleeding, but he rewrapped the bandana around it and slipped his sweatshirt on over his head, making sure the sleeves were stretched out enough to cover his wrists. Then, with trembling hands, he picked up his backpack and headed back through the darkness of the forest towards the gas station.

Jonnie stared out the car window into the darkness outside. Brookie, Alissa, and Connor had somehow managed to fall asleep, but she had too many thoughts running through her head.

She spotted a lone figure walking through the dark parking lot towards the car. At first she thought her tired eyes were playing tricks on her, but as he came closer there was no mistaking it. The person was Travis.

Jonnie quietly opened the door and hurried towards him, stopping a few feet in front of him. The quiet sound of breathing filled the air. Then, without thinking twice about it, she threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly as she began to softly cry. This simple act surprised herself, but what surprised her even more was when she felt his strong arms wrap around her lower back and pull her closer.

"I'm so sorry." Travis stumbled over his own words as silent tears began to drip down his face. "I'm so, so sorry." And he truly meant it. Not for any of his recent thoughts and feelings; those were legitimate. He couldn't share those. But after standing in the moonlight with Jonnie crying in his arms, he realized how much pain he had caused her. How careless he had been with his words. How much worry she had suffered through, even if just tonight. In that moment, he realized how much more careful he would have to be with his emotions from now on. If she was this torn over a few slipped words, he couldn't even imagine what she and the others would be like if they had witnessed any of his thoughts or actions just hours before. It was a train wreck waiting to happen, and it would most certainly end in disaster.

The two made their way over to a curb in the dark corner of the station to get out of the way of any traffic that would surely be arriving soon. Their arms were wrapped securely around each other as they cried. Jonnie pulled away as the sun began to peak out above the skyline, staring into those deep brown eyes that had her captivated since the first time they had met. Without thinking twice, Travis leaned in, connecting her lips to his. Her body tensed up in surprise, but quickly melted into the kiss.

Honestly, Travis didn't even know why he was kissing her. Less than twenty-four hours ago there was so much tension between he and Jonnie that they hadn't talked in forever, and yet here they were practically making out in the parking lot. Maybe it was because he knew she wanted him to? Or did he like her more than he let on? One thing was for sure. Life kept throwing curveballs at Travis, and he was tired of striking out. As they sat there on the curb, he couldn't help but feel like maybe...just maybe...he was finally getting back into the game.

**Author's Note: Thanks to all who reviewed my little note! The vote that won was to continue the story, and honestly I'm so glad that I did. I can't believe I was actually thinking about quitting this story! I still make no promises about updating regularly, but after hearing your opinions it made me want to write a new chapter for this story ASAP, even if it was a total filler! Sorry it was so short, but I'm not gonna lie, it's one of my favorites. Maybe things might be looking up a little again... ;) We'll see.**

**Thanks again! Just so you guys know, you are the reason I'm writing this :) Remember this: every time you click that little blue 'Review This Chapter' button at the bottom of the screen, I get an email that instantly puts a smile on my face. You all are the reason I smile 3 Thanks for being patient with me.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

Travis's fingers gripped the end of his sleeves as they drove closer and closer to their destination. The others had caused a huge scene in the parking lot when they woke up and realized he was back. It was embarrassing, but not nearly as bad as it would've been if he and Jonnie had been caught earlier that morning. The kiss ran through his mind over and over again. He could still feel the electricity of his lips on hers, their combined body heat warding off the cold of the morning. And yet the guilt was eating him alive. Sure, he liked Jonnie. He had spent every minute since they had separated mulling over every possible reason he had kissed her. He really did like her. But that wasn't the reason he had kissed her.

The kiss was a lie. A lie to cover up all the lies he had told her. In the moment, it felt like the more he kissed her, the faster the pain went away and the better the situation would get. Now all of it was back, and it was worse than ever. It felt like suddenly all the weights that had been lifted were suddenly dropped back on him, with an additional 1000 lbs or so. He thought back to the past week; at all the times he felt like not going on anymore but did it anyway. He still didn't want to live. Not when all there was for him was pain, hurt, and heartache. He dragged himself through each day. He was tortured by nightmares every night, praying for morning and then finding no relief in waking. But he urged himself forward, not only for Connor, but now for Jonnie too. The hurt he had caused her weighed down on him like a rock, and with all his other problems going on, he was sure he was nearing the breaking point. But for now, he chose to hang on.

Travis could feel Jonnie's eyes on him every now and then as he stared out the window, watching the ever-changing scenery roll by. He couldn't look back, not without raising questions. Another weight was dropped on him. He forced his eyes closed and willed himself to get some much needed sleep.

"I'll drive next," Jonnie said as Brookie steered the car into the rest stop parking lot. No one objected.

"We'll all meet up at the Wendy's in 10 minutes," Brookie stated as she got out of the car. She and Jonnie hurried to the girl's bathroom, leaving a sleeping Connor and Alissa in the backseat.

"Okay, what happened?" Brookie asked eagerly as soon as the door had closed.

"What do you mean, 'what happened'?" Jonnie asked innocently, trying to suppress the smile that was forcing its way back onto her face.

"You know what I mean. Something went down between you and Travis this morning, and I want to know what it is!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Jonnie said, trying to change the subject.

"Jonnie, don't play stupid with me. I'm your sister! You can tell me anything, you know," She wiggled her eyebrows, causing Jonnie to laugh loudly.

"What would make you think something went down?"

Brookie rolled her eyes. "Well, for one thing Travis actually seems happy; or maybe not exactly happy. I've never seen him happy. Pleased, maybe? And you literally look like you're glowing or something. Like, you're eyes are all sparkly and you keep trying- and failing, by the way- to hide a smile, like you know something we all don't." Brookie leaned closer to her sister. "And let's face it," she whispered. "Swollen lips aren't exactly the easiest thing to hide."

Jonnie blushed, but the smile finally emerged. She had cracked.

"So did he..." Brookie trailed off as Jonnie nodded. "Finally! It certainly took him long enough!"

"Shhh!" Jonnie hushed. "Not so loud!" Brookie just laughed.

"Well, I'm happy for you two, Jonnie." She hesitated. "Although it's a little bit shocking, considering he pretty much hated everyone just yesterday."

Jonnie pursed her lips as she washed her hands. "He didn't hate everyone."

Brookie chuckled. "Well that's debatable." Jonnie turned toward her sister, her face serious now. She quickly spoke again. "But, hey, everyone has their own set of problems. Some more than others…but maybe you'll be able to help him through some of them."

Jonnie nodded, deep in her own thoughts. "That's probably easier said than done. He's not exactly an open book."

Brookie shrugged. "We all have our secrets. Like I said before, some more than others but still. If relationships were easy, they wouldn't exist."

"We're not in a relationship yet," Jonnie interrupted.

"Oh hush, I'm trying to be inspiring here!" They both laughed. "But seriously, Jonnie. Nothing in life is easy, but you just need to live and learn. Who knows? Maybe you'll be the help he needs."

Jonnie smiled and hugged her sister. "Thanks, Brookster."

"Anytime. I'm forever alone anyway, so it's not like I've got anything else to do!" Jonnie snickered as they walked out of the bathrooms together. What would she do without her? She laughed to herself as she looked out in the open grassy field behind the rest stop. Travis was facing Bandit, running back and forth as the dog chased him back and forth, stopping and turning as fast as its little legs would carry him as he tried to keep up with the teenage boy. Travis stopped suddenly and collapsed into the grass, rolling over and grabbing Bandit before holding him over his head and talking to him in a doggie voice. Jonnie snapped several pictures on her phone as he continued to play with Bandit. She and Brookie found it so entertaining that they just sat on a bench looking out on the field, watching the two run back and forth, tumbling all over the ground and letting energy out that had built for days until they finally wore each other out and joined the girls.

Travis laughed. "Were you video taping that?" Jonnie's face was red with laughter as she nodded and showed him the short video clip. He shook his head, chuckling.

"C'mon, we need to get Connor and Alissa so we can eat," Brookie said after the laughter had subsided. It was a relief to hear it, considering all the tension of the past few days. Travis took a step back, placing a hand on the small of Jonnie's back as he let her pass. She smiled, her back tingling just because of his simple touch. Maybe they were meant to be after all.

**AN: Anyone wanna attempt to make a cover for this story? I'm working on one, but I'd love to see any ideas or attempts you guys have! If you do, email it to WeAwesome123(at) . (can be a cover, gif, or anything really!) Hope you enjoyed the chapter! One of my favorites so far. Thanks for reading :)**


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

"That was so good!" Brookie exclaimed as the five-some walked back towards the car, sipping Frosty's down like there were no more left on earth.

"Mhmm," Jonnie agreed as she tried to "discreetly" walk as close to Travis as possible. He smiled as her, grabbing her free hand.

"So how far are we now?" Connor asked, waiting as Alissa slid into the backseat before climbing in himself.

"Princeton, so we should be in New York in the next day or two.' Brookie slid by Travis quickly, taking the last seat in the back so he would have to sit by Jonnie. Classic.

Jonnie smiled at her sister through the rearview mirror, thanking her with silent eyes. A part of her was sad. In just two days, she would have to leave three people who she had grown so close to in the past couple weeks. Sure, they would try to keep in touch, but in reality, Travis, Connor, and Alissa didn't even know where they were going. The three of them seemed to avoid that conversation as much as possible, but they had spilled enough for Jonnie to know that her boyfriend, his brother, and their friend could pretty much be walking into a death trap. What if the address was some murderer's house, or something even worse? What would she do if they needed help? She and Brookie weren't going with them there; they'd be in the city, writing. How would they manage to get out?

Jonnie pushed her worries aside as she backed the car out, guiding it onto the highway. She tried to focus on the conversations going on around her, but secretly she wished they would all fall asleep again. That way she and Travis could talk. Not that she cared if Connor and Alissa found out about them. In fact, she wanted them to know! But she wasn't going to push Travis. He'd been through more than she even knew.

She did get her wish that night, though. Around ten, Jonnie looked back to see both Brookie and Alissa asleep on each of Connor's shoulders, with him leaning his head back on the seat, snoring softly. Jonnie stopped to refill the tank near New Brunswick while everyone, including Travis, was asleep. She was sliding the nozzle into the gas tank when she felt two strong hands slide around her petite waist. Jonnie turned in his arms, leaning her back against the side of the car as she stared up into Travis's deep brown eyes.

"I thought you were sleeping," she murmured as Travis rested his forehead on hers. She reached up, wrapping her arms loosely around his neck.

"I was," he replied simply, bringing his lips to hers gently. "But I heard the door shut."

"Mmmh," she hummed, pulling away from him slightly. "I can't believe we're almost to New York already." Travis remained silent. "Aren't you worried?"

His eyes flickered up to hers. "Why?"

"Well, you're going to some weird address that you've never heard of, and not knowing what to expect. That doesn't worry you at all?" Travis bit his lip, but remained silent. "I mean, what if it's some kind of trap? What if there's some kidnapper or murderer or psycho person living there? What if-"

"Don't worry about it." He said quickly, bringing his mouth back down on hers. But this time Jonnie didn't kiss back. She pulled away.

"Well, there's a problem, because I _am_ worried about it. Really worried, actually! I mean I know it sounds crazy, but what if something really does happen? What then?"

Travis took a deep breath. "Then we'll deal with it as it comes. But there's no reason to keep freaking out about it right now. For all I know it could be some great aunt of ours or something that we just never heard about." Even as he said it, Jonnie could see fear clouding his eyes. "We'll be fine." He said, but there was no confidence. More like he was trying to reassure himself. Travis leaned forward again.

"You guys done out here yet?" Connor's voice made both Jonnie and Travis jump. They looked over to see both he and Alissa standing on the other side of the car, the door hanging open as they stared at the couple. Travis swore under his breath, where only Jonnie could hear.

"I, uh- we…" Jonnie stuttered, pulling away from Travis and turning away quickly, fiddling with the buttons on the box and swiping her credit card. Travis hung the pump back up and screwed the cap back on the tank.

"I'll drive," he muttered, sliding into the driver's seat. Jonnie hurried around to the other side.

"Guys, we didn't-"Jonnie started.

"Whatever." Connor cut her off simply.

Travis sighed. "Connor, I-"

"I don't care. Seriously. I mean, it's a little surprising considering, well- you know. You haven't exactly been on friendly terms lately. But I honestly don't care."

The car grew silent. No one really knew what to say. Was it supposed to be that easy? What are you supposed to do when you find your brother and your friend making out at a gas station? How much had they seen?

"Weren't you guys asleep?" Jonnie asked.

"We were, but the windows aren't exactly soundproof." Alissa joked.

"Sorry," Jonnie muttered.

They drove in silence for an hour before everyone had fallen asleep again, leaving Travis to his thoughts. He thought back to what Jonnie had been saying earlier, and the truth was he _was _scared. Terrified, actually. What would he do if things started going bad? He knew one thing for sure: no one was going to touch Connor. Even if it meant Travis giving himself up, he wasn't going to let anyone harm his little brother, or Alissa either for that matter. She was like a little sister to him. Travis realized that when they had started this journey, Connor and Alissa were the only things that kept him from killing himself. He had told himself that once they reached the address, once he knew they were safe, then he could do it. But now there was Jonnie to think about. She may think she likes him- maybe even loves him- but if she knew half the things he was hiding from her, he knew things would probably be very different. Who could love some depressed, suicidal lunatic, anyway? As soon as she found out about all his personal problems, he was sure she'd be gone.

Travis slammed on the breaks as a dog darted out in front of the car, hitting the front tire with a thud.

"Shoot," he muttered, unbuckling and climbing out of the car. He walked over to where the injured dog was laying off to the side of the road. Slowly he bent down, reaching towards the black dog to see whether or not it was still alive. A low growl escaped the animal's mouth. Travis froze; he had heard that growl before. It was all too familiar, and made every hair stand on end. Before he could react, the animal swung a large- growing- paw at him. Travis screamed as it hit him square in the stomach, its claws digging into his skin, ripping through it as if it was made of tissue paper. He watched from where he was lying on the ground in horror and agonizing pain as the animal grew and grew and grew.

They had found them again.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22  
><strong>  
>Travis shook himself out of the daze he was in, trying to clear the fogginess that was beginning to fill his head as he made his way to the car as fast as he could manage. Every movement blasted his body with another inferno of pain as he crawled towards the drivers door of the car. He could feel his heart rate picking up as each breath became harder than the last.<br>At last he had reached the car, pulling himself into the seat as he clutched one arm to his injured stomach.

"What's going on?" Jonnie asked tiredly.

"We gotta go!" Travis turned the ignition and slammed on the gas pedal, jolting the car enough for everyone in the backseat to wake up too.

"What's happening?" Brookie asked nervously as she watched the speedometer inch higher and higher.

"Dog caught up to us," Travis managed to say, gritting his teeth as he tried to steer. Luckily it was late at night, so barely any people- if any at all- were on the road in this small Pennsylvania town. Fear washed over the four passengers faces as they looked out the back window to see something large in the distance, at least ten times as large as even a big dog.

"There is no way that's a dog!" Jonnie exclaimed.

"It's a chimaera!" Alissa yelled suddenly. "We learned about them in mythology class!"

"I thought mythology class wasn't real!" Brookie cried.

"So did I!" Alissa replied. "But apparently that's not the case!"

"The yelling's not helping!" Travis grunted as he tried to maneuver the tricky roads. The car grew quiet except for the sound of the radio, Bandit's whimpering, and Travis's heavy breathing. No one knew he had gotten hit.

"Travis he's getting closer!" Connor warned as he watched from the backseat with Bandit in his arms. Travis floored it down the nearest exit ramp, winding up and down the streets of the small town in an attempt to lose the vicious animal.

The chase went on for what felt like forever. As soon as he felt they had lost the chimaera, Travis began desperately searching for a place to stop. He swung the small car into the brightly lit rest stop, each breath deeper and more labored than the previous one.

"Are you okay?" Jonnie asked him, concern engulfing her face as he stopped around the back side of the building. He didn't respond.

"Travis?" Brookie asked nervously as he parked the car, throwing the door open and rushing out.

"Travis what's wro-" Jonnie stopped mid sentence as he made his way into the light, doubling over and clutching his stomach. "Oh my gosh!" The bottom half of his once gray sweatshirt was now thoroughly soaked with dark red blood. Four large claw marks were running across the front where the animal had swiped him. Travis groaned, swaying a little as he bent over again, stumbling towards the lit building.

"Hang on, buddy. I've got you," Connor rushed to his brother's side, slipping a hand around his shoulders to support him as he quickly led him towards the bathroom. He pushed the door open, helping Travis inside and setting him down with his back against the wall. Since no one was in the bathroom (or at the station at all) the girls rushed in too.

"Hold still," Connor warned as he carefully slid Travis's sweatshirt up, revealing the brutal-looking wounds. Brookie whimpered, covering her eyes and turning away.

"It'll be okay Travis," Jonnie said calmly to the boy over and over again as she sat by his side. "You'll be okay."

"Brookie, go get the first aid kit from the car. I think it's in his backpack. Grab an empty cup, too" Connor ordered. Brookie ran out of the bathroom, returning a minute later with the cup and Travis's backpack.

Connor filled the cup with water from one of the sinks and gently splashed it on his brother's stomach. Travis gritted his teeth, groaning as Connor cleaned the cuts, rinsing away the remaining blood around the claw marks.

"Alissa, hand me a bunch of paper towels." Connor commanded. She handed his a large wad, which he grabbed from her quickly.

"Travis, I've gotta put pressure on it so the bleeding will stop, so it might hurt a bit." He pressed the paper towels down hard on the wounds. Travis moaned, but didn't move. "Now I need to know what exactly happened."

"Hit dog," he started. "Got out to check...if it was dead...ah!" Travis groaned loudly.

"We need more paper towels," Connor murmured to Alissa. "So when you got out, it hit you?"  
>Travis nodded slightly, his face tight with pain. "It got bigger and bigger."<p>

"The water isn't strong enough to clean it. Who know what that thing may have been infected with. Brookie, what else is in the kit?" Brookie dug around in the small kit, producing a bottle of hydrogen peroxide. Connor cursed under his breath, taking the small bottle. "Kay bro, this is gonna hurt. A lot, but we've gotta get it clean. Sorry about this." He uncapped the bottle and slowly began to pour the liquid on one of the cuts. Travis yelled, his body wrenching to the side violently, causing Connor to spill some of the liquid. Connor cursed again.

"Jonnie, try to keep him still!" Jonnie shuffled to the other side of Travis and sat on his legs in an attempt to keep him from moving. Travis brought his arm to his mouth, biting down on his sleeve as Connor continued to pour the peroxide on each of the wounds. Jonnie could feels him shaking under her as silent tears rolled down his face.

"I think that's the best we can do right now." Connor tossed the empty bottle in the trash. "Is there gauze or something in there, Brookie?" She handed him the small roll of gauze that was left. Connor carefully began to wrap it tightly around his brother's torso, from his left rib cage where the wound began down to where it ended at his right hip. "I'm sure there's Advil or something we can give him in the car. Right now we need to put as much distance between us and that thing as possible, so we need to get going," he told the others before focusing his attention on Travis again. "Ready to move?"

Travis nodded grimly. With Connor's help, he slowly got back up on his feet. Connor slipped his arm under his brother's shoulder for support as the five-some made their way back to the car quickly. He helped Travis into the backseat, with Jonnie and Alissa sliding in on his other side before making his way to the passenger seat next to Brookie. She started the car in a hurry, and within seconds they were flying down the interstate as fast as the speed limit would allow. The small car remained eerily silent, the radio playing quietly in the background as the dark Pennsylvania scenery rolled by. Connor watched from the rearview mirror as his older brother's head drooped, leaning on Jonnie's shoulder as he fell into a restless sleep. A look of concern blanketed her face. He didn't blame her. His own thoughts were running wild around his head. How did these things always happen to Travis? Connor couldn't help but wonder:

If Travis was that good at hiding his pain during the chase, what else was he capable of hiding?

**Author's Note: Sorry for the crappy ending, but I really wanted to update for you guys so I didn't spend much time on the last part. And sorry for MORE Travis drama, but hey- that's the best kind, right? ;) **

**Anyhow, I need to ask you guys a HUGE favor. I have this summer bucket list thing, and one of the challenges is to get over 100 reviews on a story (which is proving to be one of the hardest on my list..). This is the closest story to that (already over halfway there!) and really it's the only story that has a chance to accomplish my goal, so could you PLEASE review if you read this? I'm going to try to update a lot in the next month or so, so pretty, pretty please help me get to 100 reviews by August 14****th****! If you guys could, that'd be amazing! Literally a dream come true!**

**Thanks for reading! Review please :D Much love Xx**


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

Brookie put the car in park as they pulled into the parking lot of a New York hotel the next day. They had barely stopped since the incident the day before. Travis's pain had increased during the night, but had gone down quite a bit since then (or so he claimed). He tried to act like he was fine, but one look into those deep brown eyes would tell you the opposite. Luckily, Brookie had found a bottle of Advil in her purse that helped a little.

"What are we doing here?" Alissa asked. Connor and Brookie exchanged glances before he began to speak.

"I think whatever is chasing us might know where we're going. If they do, they might be setting an ambush or something up there. The risk is high enough during the day, but I'd rather not take the chance at night."

"So we decided it might throw them off a little if we went here first. Jonnie and I have extra room, and our reservation starts tonight anyway. We have a big writing session tomorrow, so we can get you guys a taxi and then…you'll be off I guess." Sadness glimmered in her eyes as she said it, but she tried not to let it show. It was incredible how close she and Jonnie had grown with three random teenagers in the short week or so they had known them. Now that their little "road trip" was coming to an end, she realized how much she would miss them, and how bizarre this whole situation was. How many people happen to pick up three kids who are walking across the country and are being chased by strange beasts and less-than-human cheerleaders', and actually find that what they're saying is 100% real? And to top it all off, her sister decides that the oldest one is her new boyfriend? She still didn't quite understand that one (or any of it, actually), but she was happy for them nonetheless.

Reluctantly, the group got out of the car, gathering bags and trash they had accumulated throughout the trip. Bandit hopped out, barking and wagging his tail as he bounded through the grass around the car. Alissa laughed, picking him up and carrying him inside the large building. Connor and Travis –despite his injury- grabbed both the girls' suitcases as well as their own backpacks before following them inside.

Jonnie stopped at the front desk to check in. Soon they had all piled into an elevator and were on there way up to the 36th floor, room keys in hand.

**~O~**

Jonnie awoke to the sound of a door closing. She sat up, squinting to see in the darkness of the hotel room. The only sound was the quiet hum of the air conditioner and the slow, rhythmic breathing of her friends as she mentally counted the sleeping bodies she could see to figure out who left. Brookie was still beside her. Alissa was still on the couch. Connor was still on the other bed. That left only one other person.

Without a second thought, Jonnie quietly slipped out from under the covers, sliding on a pair of flip flops before silently leaving the room. The door to the stairwell was slowly closing itself. She slipped through the doorframe, letting it close firmly behind her before starting up the stairs, following the footsteps she could hear several floors up.

She climbed flight after flight of stairs before reaching the door that led to the roof, propped open by a small rock just enough to keep it from locking. Jonnie pushed it open quietly, making sure the rock was still in place as the door eased shut. Travis was sitting near the roof's edge, his face lit up by the night lights of New York City. She walked up from behind, sinking down next to him. Travis jumped slightly before he realized who it was. He smiled slightly, but the smile never reached his eyes. Silence hung over the two like a cloud.

"Nightmares?" Jonnie asked. Travis nodded grimly. She waited for him to go on, but he didn't say anything. "You can tell me, you know," she encouraged. "You can trust me." Travis bit his bottom lip, but didn't respond. Jonnie knew better than to press him. "So, I guess this is it. You guys leave tomorrow, then it'll just be me and Brookie again."

"I guess." Travis's eyes remained blank as he stared down at the city.

Jonnie sighed loudly. "This sucks."

Travis's blinked, shaking himself out of his daze. "What does?"

"This. Everything. I mean, we just got together and now you have to say goodbye…" Her voice trailed off.

"We don't_ have_ to say goodbye," he said slowly.

She looked up at him. "How would we make this work? After two weeks here, Brookie and I will go back to Arizona and I'll most likely never see any of you again." As much as she wanted to, Jonnie kept herself from crying.

"I can call you. Or Skype. Or something. I could fly out to Arizona sometimes. We could make it work."

"Travis, you don't even know where you're going! You could be walking into some sort of death trap, and you don't seem the least bit worried."

He squeezed his eyes shut. That was a subject he'd been thinking about a lot. As much as he wanted to deny it, he was worried, but not for himself. Honestly, he didn't care what happened to himself as long as Connor was safe. "I'm sure we'll be fine. Besides, if I had a bad feeling about it I wouldn't be going."

Jonnie didn't say anymore. Maybe she was worrying for nothing.

Cars honked and people shouted below them as the New York nightlife roared on. In this city, things never seemed to quiet down. Jonnie shivered, the cool night breeze chilling her to the bone, her tank top and pajama pants not providing much warmth. Travis noticed. In one smooth motion he scooted next to Jonnie, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her to his chest, his sweatshirt providing enough warmth for the both of them. Neither one of them spoke as they watched the busy scene before them. Jonnie placed her hands on top of his, lacing and unlacing their fingers together over and over again. With a sigh, she slid her hands down to his wrists in an attempt to pull his arms around her tighter. He tensed up as her fingers brushed the fading scars on his right hand. Her eyebrows knit together in concern as she got a closer look.

"What happened?" she asked, but she had a feeling she already knew the answer. A sick feeling grew in the pit of her stomach. Travis didn't get a chance to answer as she lifted his other wrist, unwrapping the bandana to reveal the new wounds- wounds that he had created just a few hours ago.

"Jonnie…" Travis's voice trailed off as she looked at him with tear-filled eyes.

"Why?" she choked out, the tears beginning to fall in streams down her cheeks.

His breaths felt shorter and shorter as she pulled away from him, eyes demanding an answer. "Jonnie, you wouldn't understand-"

"I wouldn't understand? How can I understand when you won't tell me ANYTHING!" she yelled. "Travis, what is going on?" Her eyes were desperate, searching. "How could you do this to yourself?"

Travis was at a loss for words. "I-" he started. "I didn't know what else to do." His voice was barely above a whisper.

"Well, I could think of a LOT of other things you could've done!" she shouted. Travis didn't say anything. "Does Connor know?"

He was silent for a moment. "No." More silence. Travis cleared his throat. "No, and I want it to stay that way. He doesn't need to know about this."

"Travis, he's your brother-"

"He's been through enough already! Do you really believe him finding out his brother is suicidal is gonna help anything?" The words were out before he could take them back.

Jonnie's eyes widened. "Oh, Travis-" Suddenly sitting on the top of a 40 story building was the worst place for them to be.

"Just promise me you won't tell him." His eyes were pleading. "He can't handle that…" His voice cracked as he tried to hold back the tears that were threatening to overflow. Just the thought of Connor's reaction to news like this… Travis couldn't bear to see his little brother like that. "Please?"

"Travis, this is your _life_ we're talking about -" Jonnie's voice quivered.

"I-I promise I'll stop if you don't tell him about this." A single tear dripped down his face. "Please?"

Jonnie swallowed hard. "You're asking a lot-"

"Promise me?"

Jonnie took a shaky breath. "I'm sorry. I can't promise you that." Without another word, she got up and ran down the stairs.

**A/N: What's this? An update only six days after the last one? I'm doing better! Lol anyway thanks for reading! Keep the comments coming please! I need 100 by August 15****th**** to reach my goal, and we're only 36 away! Thanks again! Hope you enjoyed! **


End file.
